


Shore Leave

by gayspacepilots



Series: Two Gay Botanists and Their Very Sweet Daughter [2]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Romantic Fluff, The Sulu Family, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-09 09:36:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 52,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7796734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayspacepilots/pseuds/gayspacepilots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finally, after what seemed like forever, Hikaru could sit down with his family and spend some much needed time together. The past few days had been rough on the lieutenant and he was aching for some shore leave. Luckily, the surviving Enterprise crew was granted their leave while the Enterprise A was under construction.</p>
<p>A sequel to my story <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/7631176/chapters/17373994">A Three Year Reunion</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Heartwarming Family Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> So, here it is, the sequel to "A Three Year Reunion" as promised. As of right now, it has seven completed chapters and an eighth in progress. It's probably going to be longer than the first story if I continue writing, but I'm sure you guys won't have a problem with that. It's got a lot more fluff than the previous story did and a lot less tears. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it!!
> 
> The song in this story is "Fresh Pair of Eyes" by Brooke Waggoner.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru returns home and his family is more than happy to see him again.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Hikaru could sit down with his family and spend some much needed time together. The past few days had been rough on the lieutenant and he was aching for some shore leave. Luckily, the surviving Enterprise crew was granted their leave while the Enterprise A was under construction.

“I can’t wait to take her out for a spin,” Hikaru thought to himself, “But not until I get my well deserved shore leave.”

He was collapsed on the couch, trying to settle his stomach after Ben and Demora cooked a huge dinner for the three of them. Most of it was leftovers from the dinner they made the night before, but Hikaru couldn’t tell and didn’t care. It brought tears to his eyes knowing that Ben and Demora were thinking of him when he was missing yesterday. They barely had a chance to set the food down before Hikaru plowed into it. He hadn’t eaten in a long time and the food looked and tasted fantastic.

 

Ben perched himself on the arm of the couch and asked, “You alright?”

Hikaru let out a happy hum, stretching out his arms and legs. He looked up at Ben, with heavy eyelids and a small smile, “Couldn’t be better,” Hikaru mumbled, closing his eyes.

“DAAADDY!!” Demora shouted from the kitchen, running into the living room and jumping onto Hikaru’s stomach. Hikaru let out an, “Ooofph,” as all the air in his lungs was pushed out from Demora’s jump.

“Hey, sweetie,” Hikaru spoke softly, when he got his breath back. He brushed a stray piece of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. She smiled and slumped against him, clutching his arm. Hikaru nuzzled his nose into her hair and murmured, “I love you Dem,”

He rubbed her back lightly with the arm Demora was not clasped onto.

“I love you too, Daddy.” She replied, lifting herself up to kiss his cheek, before falling back down onto her dad’s chest.

“I missed you,” She murmured into his shirt.

Hikaru smiled, giving her a light squeeze, “I missed you too, Dem.” Giving her a light kiss on the top of her head.

 

Ben smiled at the two and left them to spend some father-daughter family bonding. He lay down on his and Hikaru’s bed and got out his 21st century novel from his bedside table. He turned on the reading light, listening to the light murmur of voices from the living room.

He was only reading for about 10 minutes before Demora climbed onto the bed and sat next to Ben. “Papa, come colour with us!” She said with a large smile. Ben couldn’t resist Demora’s request. He leaned over, putting his book on the nightstand and followed Demora out of the room. Hikaru was already sitting cross legged in the middle of the living room, surrounded by various different markers and crayons; drawing what Ben assumed was some sort of house plant using crayons.

 

Demora lay down on the floor, grabbing a handful of crayons and a sheet of paper. Ben sat next to her, taking a piece of paper and a couple of markers. He started with sketching Demora, with her mint green dress, matching headband and her mismatched, polka dot socks. Ben usually wouldn’t call himself an artist, but his finished piece of Demora laying on the floor turned out really well. Since his first picture didn’t take him long to finish, he tried sketching Hikaru.

 

Meanwhile, Hikaru was deep in thought, focused on his plant drawing; Ben tried to capture that in his own picture, but it quickly turned into scribbles when Ben got to Hikaru’s legs. He just couldn’t wrap his head around how to get them to look decent on a piece of paper.

“Done!” Demora said, holding up her masterpiece. It was a picture of the three of them on what appeared to be the Enterprise. Hikaru and Ben were standing behind the Captain’s chair and Demora was sitting in the chair.

 

Ben and Hikaru looked at her creation and beamed, “Dem, it looks amazing.” Hikaru spoke.

“Well done sweetie, it’s much better than my drawing of your father.” Ben spoke holding up his heavily scribbled rendition of Hikaru.

“What happened to my legs?” Hikaru asked, half laughing, half mildly offended.

“Sorry, I can’t draw legs.” Ben answered, scratching the back of his neck.

“You drew Demora’s just fine.” Hikaru said, gesturing to Ben’s first picture.

“Hey, I tried my best,” Ben said, giggling slightly.

“I know, your drawings are much better than my Aloe plant.” Hikaru spoke.

“I like your Alwo plant.” Demora spoke, admiring Hikaru’s art attempt.

“Al-low, sweetie,” Ben corrected softly, exaggerating the word slightly.

 

Demora let out a huge yawn, and rubbed her eyes. “Okay, Dem, it’s past your bedtime.” Hikaru spoke, letting out his own yawn, “You should get some sleep.”

“Can I sleep with you tonight?” She asked, looking tired.

Hikaru and Ben shared a smile, “Of course you can Dem.” Ben answered. “But you have to put on your pajamas first.”

“Okay,” she replied, getting up from the floor and walking quietly to her room. Hikaru helped Ben clean up the scattered markers and crayons from the floor and put them with the rest of Demora’s crafting supplies.

 

“I missed you,” Hikaru spoke softly, leaning over to grab a green crayon that rolled under the coffee table.

Ben kneeled next to his husband and wrapped an arm around him. “I missed you too.” He answered, resting his head on Hikaru’s shoulder.

“We lost Syl,” Hikaru mumbled.

Ben looked up at Hikaru, surprised.

“What happened?” Ben whispered.

“Krall got to her,” He answered, “There was nothing I could do.”

 

It was silent until Hikaru spoke again.

“I almost died 8 times out there.” Hikaru whispered.

Ben was silent, Hikaru continued anyway. “I could’ve died when the Enterprise was attacked. When the droids invaded the ship, some made it to the bridge and one almost shot me. When I escaped, my pod could have easily been destroyed on impact when I collided with the swarm. Later on, Nyota and I escaped this holding facility and we were caught; they easily could’ve shot me there.”

Ben shifted and pulled Hikaru into his arms; he held him tightly and rubbed his hands slowly across his back.

 

“We were brought to Krall and he could have killed me when we had no escape. After that, Krall grabbed me and started sucking my life away, luckily he let me go. I could’ve died when I flew the Franklin off a cliff and if our plan failed we could’ve died when we flew into the swarm again.”

“But you didn’t,” Ben said, when Hikaru finished.

“I could have,” Hikaru answered, his whole body was quivering.

“No, you came back because you’ve got something worth fighting for. You’ve got a lot of fight in you, you have a lot of strength Hikaru. You don’t give up, anyone in that situation could give in and stop fighting. But not you. You fight until there’s peace, you fight until every soul is safe.”

Ben spoke, giving Hikaru a kiss on his forehead, “You don’t give up and that’s one of the many reasons why I love you.” Ben finished.

“What did I ever do to deserve you?” Hikaru asked, his voice breaking.

“You fell in love with a man that loves you.”

Hikaru smiled, “Yeah, yeah I did.” Hikaru answered, leaning into his husband’s embrace.

 

 

The two men had barely gotten changed and into their bed before Demora opened their door, crawled under the covers and in between Hikaru and Ben. They turned on their sides and each wrapped an arm around their daughter.

“Will you sing to me?” She mumbled quietly.

This was usually a regular routine for the family, instead of always reading Demora a story before she would fall asleep, they would sing to her. Something soft and soothing that would put her to sleep almost instantly.

 

Hikaru and Ben looked at each other before asking, “Which one?”

Demora was silent for a minute, before answering, “My favourite one.”

The two smiled at each other and started to hum a soft melody. Demora liked the humming, she found it relaxed her and it usually put her to sleep before the song finished.

The humming stopped as Hikaru and Ben began to sing,

_“Cause I want to be seen,_

_with a fresh pair of eyes_

_The single white tree_

_In a black hood of disguise.”_

Demora smiled as the song began, she could already feel herself falling asleep.

 

_“I want, I want to be seen_

_With a fresh pair of eyes_

_The single, the single white tree_

_In a black hood of disguise.”_

Hikaru could see Demora relaxing in his and Ben’s overlapping arms. He watched as her breaths evened out and her face relaxed.

 

He and Ben continued, slightly slower,

_“I miss God, I miss God_

_I miss God, I miss God.”_

The two stopped singing and started humming again. They repeated the same melody, over and over, slowly getting quieter. As they hummed the final line of the song, Demora was already fast asleep in their arms. The two smiled up at each other, before giving her soft kisses on the top of her head from both of them.

 

“Goodnight, Dem,” Hikaru whispered, laying his head lightly on the top of her head.

“We love you sweetie,” Ben whispered back, holding one of her hands in his own.


	2. Indoor Picnics and an Embarrassed, Flustered Ben

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim video calls Hikaru and suggests that their family should have a picnic together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading my new story. I wasn't sure if this story would be as successful as my other stories, but it seems to be getting the same amount of attention that the last story got. This chapter's super sweet and twice as long as the first chapter.
> 
> I hope you guys like it!

Hikaru woke up to sunlight pouring in through his window, he cracked his eyes open, shifting under the blankets. Demora was still asleep in his arms from yesterday; Hikaru gently moved her hair out of her face, careful not to wake her.

“She’s so quiet when she’s asleep,” Ben spoke, startling Hikaru.

Ben laughed, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” He answered quietly, walking over to the side of the bed. Ben cupped Demora’s cheek, running his thumb along her cheek.

 

Hikaru looked up at Ben, he was wearing his cooking apron that Demora had got him for father’s day last year. The pattern was made up of various Federation starships, including the Enterprise and the rumored new ship, the Excelsior.

“Should we wake her?” Hikaru asked.

“No, let her sleep,” Ben answered, “She needs it.”

Ben placed a kiss on Demora’s forehead and lay down on the bed.

“How’d you sleep?” Ben asked Hikaru.

“It was the best I’ve ever slept in a long time.” Hikaru answered.

“How long?” Ben wondered.

“Since our last night together.” Hikaru replied.

Ben looked sympathetic, he reached a hand out towards Hikaru. Hikaru took it and linked their fingers together.

 

“I can see why she likes that song so much.” Hikaru started, “It’s so relaxing; it almost instantly put me to sleep.”

Ben smiled gently, “Yeah, it did the same to me.”

 

They talked quietly for 15 minutes before Ben left the room to go check on breakfast. Hikaru looked down at Demora; he missed the moments like this that he couldn’t experience while in space. The personal ones where he truly felt like a father again. He could remember when Demora was just a baby and she’d wake him up at 3 in the morning, crying.

 

_“It’s your turn to feed her,” Ben grumbled, shoving his head under the pillow._

_Hikaru smiled, “Alright, Mr. Grouchy,” He spoke sarcastically, getting up to take care of Demora._

 

Hikaru looked forward to those moments, where it was just him and Demora. When she was just a baby and depended on him for her every need; or moments like now when she trusted him to keep her safe and care for her. He missed feeling like a father and getting to see his little girl grow up.

 

Ben walked in 10 minutes later and sat down next to Hikaru.

“Well, breakfast is almost ready,” Ben spoke, “We should probably wake her.”

“Yeah, we probably should.”

Ben scooched closer to Demora and the two lightly started to shake Demora awake.

“Demora, Dem,”

“Dem, Dem sweetie,”

“Dem, wake up,”

 

Demora stirred and opened her eyes slowly; she hummed happily upon seeing her two dads.

 

“Hey sweetie,” Ben spoke, squeezing one of her hands.

“Morning Dem,” Hikaru added lightly, giving her a gentle kiss on her cheek.

“Breakfast is ready,” Ben replied.

Demora yawned once, covering her mouth with her other hand and slowly sat up on the bed.

“Come on sweetie,” Ben said, lifting her off the bed and carrying her to the dining room; Hikaru trailing close behind them.

Ben set Demora down onto one of their dining chairs and walked back into the kitchen.

 

“What’s for breakfast?” She asked, muffling another yawn.

“Scrambled eggs, french toast, hashbrowns and pancakes,” Ben answered.

“Wow, you really went all-out on this,” Hikaru replied.

“It’s the first breakfast we’ve had with you in a long time.” Ben spoke, grabbing 3 plates out of the cupboard. He handed one to Hikaru, one to Demora and kept the last for himself. They took turns serving themselves; Hikaru pausing to lift Demora up so she could put her own food on her plate.

 

They all sat down at the table with full plates.

“Hikaru, we’ve been invited to Jim’s birthday party today.”

“It’s Uncle Jim’s birthday today?” Demora asked, “Can I go?”

“Sorry, sweetie, it’s an adult party.” Ben answered, shoving some pancakes into his mouth.

“Awwww,” Demora cried out, “But why not?” She asked, stabbing at her eggs.

Hikaru chuckled, “You won’t be missing much Dem,” Hikaru began, “Plus you won’t want to be there, it will be full of boring adults that you won’t know.”

Demora pouted, “I still want to go.” She mumbled, eating a few of her hashbrowns.

Hikaru leaned over to kiss the top of her head, “No you don’t, you’d be bored out of your mind.”

“Plus, we won’t stay for long, we’ll only be gone a couple of hours.” Ben replied.

“Yeah, you’ll barely notice we were gone.” Hikaru added.

“You can spend the time with Ms. Sh'rhaohrok,” Ben responded.

Demora tilted her head to the side, “The one that made my Enterprise plushie?” She asked.

“That’s the one.” Ben answered.

“Oooo, I like her,” Demora spoke, “She made me a dress for my birthday.”

 

“Daddy, will you walk me to school tomorrow?” Demora asked.

“Of course I will Dem, I’m not going to miss sending you off to school for the first time.” Hikaru answered.

“It’s not my first day of school, Daddy. It’s March.”

“I know, but it’s the first time I get to walk my daughter to school.”

“And then I can help your Papa with his lab work.”

“Hikaru, you don’t have to do that, you can stay home and rest.” Ben replied, “In fact, you should spend your time resting. You never seem to get enough of it when you’re on the Enterprise.”

“There’s no way you’re making me change my mind.” Hikaru said stubbornly, “I want to see what you do when you work. Plus, it’s been ages since I’ve seen your lab, I want to see what’s new.”

Ben sighed, “Fine, you can come. But don’t blame me if I get fired for bringing a guest into my lab.”

Hikaru rolled his eyes, “Oh please, your boss loves me. There’s no way you’d get fired from bringing me along, I would never allow that to happen.” Hikaru trailed off, giving Ben a light, playful shove.

 

The family finished off their breakfasts and went off to start their usual Sunday morning routines. Ben left to go take a shower, Demora began filling in a colouring book Hikaru got for her while off planet; while Hikaru started looking through his PADD messages and catching up on the local news. He was just about to set his PADD down when he got a call from Kirk.

 

He left the living room and went into the bedroom to answer it. It took a few seconds to establish a connection before the two could start talking.

“Hey Jim,” Hikaru spoke, “What’s going on? Why’d you call?”

Jim looked more than slightly offended, “What a Captain can’t call his dear helmsmen for a pleasant conversation without him thinking he has some ulterior motive?” Jim asked.

“Jim, you always have an ulterior motive, it’s just who you are.”

“Okay, fair point.” Jim agreed, “Anyways, I was calling because you’re scheduled for debriefing today at 14:00.”

“Oh okay,” Hikaru sighed, “I forgot we haven’t gone through debriefing and protocols since Krall’s attack on Yorktown.”

“Good and you’ve got a standard medical exam after that; I’m required to tell you that if you try to miss that, Bones will find you and drag your sorry ass back down to his temporary MedBay.”

“You’re required to tell me that?” Hikaru asked.

Kirk chuckled lightly, “I tried to skip out on mine and Bones almost threw me out the airlock.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to miss my debriefing or skip my medical exam.”

 

Hikaru looked down at his own video feed when he saw something moving. Hikaru watched as Ben walked into the room, with a towel around his waist. Hikaru half turned around in his chair to let out a, “Oh, hey Ben.”

Unfortunately, Ben hadn’t realized that Hikaru was sitting at his desk and jumped back, sending Ben’s towel fluttering towards the floor. Hikaru was mortified and Jim was at a loss for words. Hikaru never intended to startle Ben, he assumed Ben was aware of his presence.

“OH MY GOD, HIKARU!” Ben spoke loudly, in between his heavy panting, “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

As Ben’s breaths evened out, he spoke, “Oh, hey Jim, when did you call? Have you and Hikaru been talking for long?”

Hikaru was still stunned. He managed to turn his PADD around but unfortunately the damage was already done. “Does Ben still not know his towel his on the ground?” He thought to himself.

“Uhhh,” Jim spoke, trying to say something, but the words were getting caught in his throat.

“Umm, Ben?” Hikaru choked out, turning red.

“Yeah?” He asked, completely oblivious.

Hikaru gulped, “Y-your t-t-towel...”

Ben looked confused, he didn’t understand until he looked down and saw his towel on the floor and realized his whole body was in plain sight. Panicking, he quickly leaned down, grabbed his towel and wrapped it around his waist.

 

Ben stood there for awhile, his face quickly turning red, trying to process what had just happened.

“Well Hikaru, I can see why you like him.” Jim began, “He’s got a lot going on down there.”

Hikaru facepalmed himself, “Jim you’re not helping.”

“If I wasn’t so thoroughly embarrassed, I’d love that complement.” Ben croaked out, his blush spreading down his neck and across his chest.

 

Hikaru got up from his chair and sat next to his husband.

“I’m sorry, this is my fault.” Hikaru started, “I shouldn’t have startled you.”

“You didn’t know you were going to scare me, I should’ve noticed that you were sitting there. But I didn’t.”

“Hey,” Jim spoke up from Hikaru’s PADD and the two men turned to look at him.

“I know what will cheer you up, Ben.”

Cocking his head to the side, he asked, “Okay, what’s going to cheer me up?”

“This,” Kirk spoke, holding up a picnic basket.

Ben was confused, “How’s a basket supposed to cheer me up?”

 

Kirk rolled his eyes, “I went through your photo album when I saved it from being abandoned and destroyed in space. I noticed a picture of you and Demora having a picnic inside during a thunderstorm.”

“Uh yeah, when Hikaru was on the 5 year mission, my mother invited us for a family reunion on Earth. We stayed for a couple of days and on the second day, me and Dem planned on going for a picnic, but when it started to rain, we had one inside.”

“Okay, so do that.” Jim said.

“Do what?” Ben asked.

“Have a picnic inside. It’ll be super cute, you can take lots of family pictures together. Plus this time you can do it with Hikaru.”

“Huh, that’s not a bad idea.” Hikaru spoke, staring off into space.

“Okay, we’ll get started on that soon. Thanks Jim.” Ben spoke.

“No problem, take care guys.”

“We will.” They said together.

“Tell Demora that uncle Jim says hi.”

“Sure thing, talk to you later, Jim,” Hikaru spoke.

“Bye guys,” Jim said, ending the video call.

 

Hikaru walked back to his husband, “Do you feel better now?”

Ben chuckled, “A little.”

There was a pause before Ben spoke, “Can you believe he complimented my...you know-” Ben stopped to gesture at his crotch.

Hikaru smiled, “Well he’s not wrong, it is pretty amazing down there.”

Ben got up and threw his towel at Hikaru before getting dressed.

 

 

After one hour of free time for everyone, Hikaru and Ben brought Demora into the kitchen to start making and preparing food for their indoor picnic.

“Alright, who’s ready for the next Sulu Family Picnic?” Ben asked.

Demora’s face lit up, “Ooo,ooo, me! Me! I am!”

Demora was bouncing with excitement, she beamed at the idea of an indoor picnic. She loved the first one that she and Ben had on Earth and knew this one was going to be even better.

“Okay, Dem, I want you to start making sandwiches.”

“Alright, Papa.”

“But only make three this time; don’t make 7 like you did last time and we both couldn’t finish our sandwiches because we made too much food.”

“Awwww, you’re no fun,” She said with a pout.

“I’m just being practical,” Ben replied, kissing the top of her head.

“I don’t like practical,” Demora muttered, but started working on the sandwiches.

 

“What do you want me to do?” Hikaru asked, hovering behind Ben.

Ben opened the fridge and shoved an armload of fruits and vegetables into Hikaru’s arms.

“Cut those,” Ben answered, “But don’t make too many, they go bad really quick after you cut them.”

“Okay, but what about you? What are you in charge of?” Hikaru asked.

“Well, I get the wonderful job of making ‘Ben Sulu’s Yorktown Inspired Intergalactic Garden Salad’.”

Hikaru’s eyebrows shot up, “An intergalactic garden salad?” Hikaru repeated, “What’s that?”

“You’ll have to find out.” Ben replied, starting to cut his own vegetables and rinsing them with water.

 

The three went to work on their individual tasks; with the workload spread out between the three of them, they finished relatively quickly. Ben left the kitchen to lay down a large, patterned blanket in the middle of the living room.

“Okay, I think we’re fully prepared for our picnic.” Ben spoke when he entered the kitchen again. The three of them moved the food from the living room and set it down in the middle of the blanket.

 

“I remember our first indoor picnic,” Demora spoke, tears forming in her eyes, “It started off really nice, but then I hid under the couch because the sky got mad.”

“Oh Dem,” Hikaru said softly, “You don’t have to worry about that here; the sky won’t get mad on Yorktown.”

Hikaru held one of Demora’s hands and Ben moved closer to hold her other hand.

“Papa had to convince me it was safe to come out even though the sky was still mad. He held me and said it would be okay but the sky still sounded really angry and loud. It went on for a long time until I fell asleep. But when I woke up, the sky wasn’t mad anymore; it was just like a bad dream.”

“Well, you’re safe here and you’re safe now. We’ll never let anything happen to you.” Hikaru spoke.

“Really?” She asked.

“When we’re here, you’ll always be safe. We’ll always protect you.” Ben answered quietly.

Demora smiled before asking, “Can we eat now?”

“Of course we can,” Hikaru replied, “Let’s eat!”

 

As Hikaru bit into his sandwich, he turned to Demora and suggested, “Hey Dem, why don’t you tell me about that time you and Papa planted trees in the local park?”

Demora lit up, “Okay!” She spoke excitedly.

 

“So it was was a warm day here on Yorktown...”

 

\------ _Demora’s P.O.V: Past_ \-----

 

_“Hey Dem, I’ve got something fun we can do today,” Ben spoke, his eyes glued to his PADD._

_Demora, covered in glitter from the crafts she was making, looked up at Ben._

_“There’s a gardening program, called Building Brighter Futures, that plants trees across Yorktown.”_

_Demora smiled brightly, “Oooo, can we do that?” She asked._

_Ben chuckled, “Well that’s exactly what I was going to ask you.”_

_“Can we Papa? Can we, can we, can we?” She repeated, bouncing on her feet._

_“Of course we can.” Ben answered._

 

_The two left the apartment and headed out to a nearby park where the organization was scheduled to be planting trees. When Ben and Demora got there, 15 people were already planting trees._

_An Orion woman approached Ben and Demora and spoke, “Are you here for the tree planting?”_

_“Uh, yeah,” Ben answered, “It seems you have a lot of people already. Should we come a different day?” Ben asked._

_“Nonsense, there’s never enough helpers,” She replied, “I’m Jisu, I’ll help you through your first tree and after that, you can plant your own.”_

 

_Jisu showed them to a section of open field where she demonstrated all the steps in planting the tree saplings. They started with digging a large hole in the ground. After that, Jisu helped Demora hold the tree upright, while Ben filled the hole with the dirt they dug up._

_“And that’s basically it,” Jisu explained, “If you need anything else, just give me a holler. Okay?”_

_“Okay!” Ben and Demora shouted together._

_Jisu left to check on the other people’s progress, leaving Ben and Demora on their own._

 

_Ben and Demora were halfway done planting their 5th tree when Ben spoke, “This is fun isn’t it Dem?”_

_Demora giggled, “It’s really fun. I like gardening.”_

_“Maybe you could become a botanist instead of a pilot,” Ben joked._

_“Or I could be both,” Demora suggested._

_Ben smiled, “You’re so much like your father,” Ben answered, picking Demora up and kissing her forehead._

_“We love you so much, Dem,” He murmured into her hair, “So much.”_

_Demora buried her face into Ben’s neck, “I love you too, Papa.”_

 

_Ben kissed the top of her head as she whispered, “I love Daddy too.”_

_Ben rotated her in his arms and pointed at the galaxies outside of Yorktown._

_“Right now,” Ben spoke softly, “He’s out there, waiting until he can come home. Until he can be with us again.”_

 

_“I hope he comes home soon,” Demora breathed, “I miss him.”_

 

\------ _Hikaru’s P.O.V: Present_ \-----

 

“Oh Dem,” Hikaru spoke, wrapping his arms around her, “I’m here, I’m here now and I’m not leaving for a long time. Okay?”

Demora smiled and cuddled against his chest, “Okay,” She hummed.

 

Hikaru collapsed onto the blanket once he was finished his salad and sandwich.

“Daddy, what did you think of our picnic?” Demora asked, leaning over him.

“It was amazing, your sandwich was incredible and the salad was excellent.” He answered, rubbing his stomach lightly.

Demora collapsed on top of him, “Good, I’m glad,” She spoke, nuzzling into his shoulder.

Hikaru kissed the top of her head several times before motioning for Ben to come and join them.

 

Ben lay down next to Hikaru, reaching over he tickled the small of her back. Demora let out a happy screech and several quiet giggles. Smiling to himself, Ben sat up and continued. Using both of his hands, he started tickling Demora’s back and slowly moved on to her sides.

Demora was booming with laughter and there were tears streaming down her face from laughing so hard.

“Papa,” She wheezed, “Stop, I can’t-take it-anymore,” She managed to squeak, through her giggles.

 

Ben stopped and lifted her up into her arms and hugged her, “Are you okay?”

Still giddy and full of laughter, she nodded enthusiastically.

Ben smiled brightly, “I love you sweetie.”

“I love you too,” She said, wrapping her arms around Ben.

 

Hikaru got up and shuffled over to them, wrapping his arms around the two of them he spoke, “We love you Dem, we love you so much.” The family stayed wrapped in each other’s arms for what seemed like an eternity; none of them wanting to let go, none of them wanting to be separated.

 

None of them wanting this moment to end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? I loved writing the little video call scene, despite emotionally scarring Ben. He's a sweetheart and I shouldn't be hurting him like this. 
> 
> Is there anything you would like me to add to this story? If there is, please let me know and I'll do my best to include it. Chapter 3 will be up in a few days and I hope you'll all continue to read it!!
> 
> Also, just recently I was looking back at some Beyond gifs, and I noticed that when Hikaru meets his family at the airport, Ben was holding something. When I first saw the movie I thought that he was holding his hands together, but he's not. When I looked at it more closely, I realized that Ben was holding an Enterprise plushie. I wrote the plushie idea in my first story, at the end of July, because I thought it was adorable and a cute little filler idea. I didn't notice until now that it was actually canon. So I might write a whole other story on that plushie just because of this. Anyways, I thought Ben with the plushie was so sweet and I had to share it with you guys. 
> 
> (Feel free to run wild with it, I'd love to read any stories about the Enterprise plushie)


	3. Demora Becomes an Expert Fencer and Hikaru and Ben Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demora beats her dads in a fencing match and later Hikaru and Ben attend Jim's 30th birthday party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I hope you're still reading and enjoying this story of mine. I've just finished writing chapter 10 of this story and it's already a lot longer than "A Three Year Reunion." This chapter is a lot shorter than the last chapter, but I assure you it is just as good. It's got a lot of fluff and sweet family bonding. I hope you'll enjoy it!

By the time Hikaru left for debriefing and his medical exam, Ben felt significantly better. He took Demora down to the courtyard behind their apartment building, so she could play outside while he finished reading his book.

Demora was playing with a set of plastic swords that Hikaru and Ben got for her last year. She was swinging them around, wildly screeching, “Back, back! I’m warning you! Stay back!”

Ben glanced up from his book and couldn’t resist laughing. Demora was becoming more and more like Hikaru everyday. Ben often wondered what he would do when both Hikaru and Demora were out exploring deep space.

 

Demora shook him out of his thoughts, “Papa, papa!” She shouted, “Come play with me!” She said, offering him one of the swords.

Ben shook his head, “Sorry sweetie, you’re asking the wrong person. I’m not very good at fencing.”

“But Daddy taught you,” She answered, “He taught you so he’d have someone to practice with.”

“Yeah, and he kicked the shit outta me every time,” Ben muttered.

Demora tilted her head, “What was that?” She asked.

Ben, startled and wide-eyed, spat out, “Nothing, he just always beat me.”

“But I’ll go easy on you,” Demora said innocently.

Ben smiled, “Okay, I’ll join you,” he spoke, accepting the other plastic sword.

 

The two got into their starting positions and Ben yelled, “En garde.”

 

They fought a while until Demora was winning 7-2; they were just about to start their 10th round when a voice from behind them, hollered, “You’re fencing without me?”

Ben and Demora turned around to see Hikaru leaning against a tree in the courtyard.

“Daddy!” Demora hollered, dropping her sword and jumping into Hikaru’s arms.

“Hey sweetie,” He spoke, wrapping his arms around her.

“It’s about time you showed up,” Ben replied, walking towards Hikaru and Demora, “I’m getting my butt kicked and she’s going easy on me.”

“Oh really?” Hikaru asked, “How badly are you beating Papa?”

“Seven to two,” She answered.

Hikaru’s face lit up, “Really?”

“Yup!”

“That’s my girl,” He said, spinning her around, “I’m so proud of you.”

“Will you play with me?” She asked when Hikaru set her down.

“Only if I get the pink sword.” Hikaru joked.

“Okay!” She answered, running to pick up the pink sword and bringing it back to Hikaru.

 

“You ready?” Hikaru asked, holding his sword out in front of him.

Demora nodded.

“Aaaand, En garde!” Hikaru called.

 

They battled each other for 40 minutes until they decided to call it quits. Demora ended up beating Hikaru 6-4 and was beaming with excitement. “Hehehe,” she giggled, “I beat you Daddy and I beat Papa too!” Demora was bouncing on the tips of her feet, Hikaru wondering to himself, “Does she ever run out of energy?”

The family walked back to their apartment to prepare a small dinner before Hikaru and Ben had to drop Demora off at the Sh'rhaohroks and leave for Jim’s party.

“So,” Hikaru began, “What’s on the menu tonight?”

“I was either thinking Stir Fry or Pizza,” Ben replied.

“Go with Pizza, you can always have it as a snack if you don’t finish it all.”

“Fair point,” Ben answered, “Alright, pizza it is.”

As Ben was putting in his cooking apron he spoke, “Shoo, go entertain our daughter while I make dinner.”

Hikaru laughed, holding his hands up in surrender as he left the kitchen to go play with Demora.

 

Demora was lying on her bed looking through a box of puzzle pieces when Hikaru walked in.

“Hey, Dem,” Hikaru spoke, she turned her head towards him and smiled.

“Hi Daddy!” She said happily.

“What are you doing?” He asked, sitting next to her.

“Puzzle,” She answered simply, “Papa got it for me last week.” She reached over and grabbed the lid of the box and thrust it into Hikaru face. “It’s Yorktown.”

Hikaru took the box from Demora and sure enough, on the cover of the puzzle box was a picture of Yorktown in deep space.

“Looks like you’ve got a lot of it done already.” Hikaru spoke, setting the box down and looking at the mostly completed picture of Yorktown. “You know, you’ll probably have an easier time putting it together if you have something underneath it.” Hikaru slid off the bed and grabbed a large picture frame off the wall. Carefully, to avoid destroying the it, he slid the frame under the puzzle, without losing any of the pieces.

 

“There, now it should be a lot easier.”

“Will you help me?” Demora asked.

“Sure, I’ll try my best.”

With the two of them working at the same time, it wasn’t long before there was only one piece left.

“Dem, you should out the last one in.” Hikaru spoke.

“We should both do it!” Demora replied.

“Okay, we’ll do it together,” Hikaru answered, holding onto the corner of the last piece. Demora grabbed another and they lined it up to match the hole.

“On three,” Hikaru said, “1-2-3,” They pushed the final puzzle piece in and sat back to admire the finished puzzle.

“It looks awesome, Dem,” Hikaru spoke, wrapping his arm around Demora and kissing her cheek lightly.

She giggled, “We should get it framed.”

“Yeah, and then you can hang it in your room.” Hikaru responded, giving her a quick squeeze.

 

They were interrupted when Ben walked in and said, “Wow, it sure didn’t take you long to complete that.”

“Daddy helped,” Demora answered, “We put the last piece in together.”

“It looks great,” Ben spoke, kissing the top of Demora’s head, “You guys did a great job.”

“It was all Dem, she had most of it done by the time I walked in.” Hikaru replied.

Demora smiled and asked, “When’s dinner going to be ready?”

“It’s ready now,” Ben responded, “Are you hungry?”

She nodded enthusiastically.

“Well let’s get you some dinner before you have to go to the Sh'rhaohrok’s.”

 

Out of all the times Ben had cooked for Demora, never had he seen her eat so much in a short amount of time. “You sure seem hungry.” Ben spoke after finishing his second piece of pizza.

“If I want to grow, I need to eat more.” Demora mumbled through her full mouth.

“Dem, sweetie,” Hikaru begun, “Chew first before you swallow.”

“Sorry,” She mumbled, while wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

 

“How long will you be?” Demora asked, a few minutes later.

Ben and Hikaru shared a look, “Uhh, maybe 2 hours?” Hikaru said, uncertain.

“Yeah, we probably won’t be any longer than that.” Ben added.

“So you’ll be back in time to sing me a song?” She asked.

“Of course, we’re not going to skip singing to you.” Hikaru spoke, reaching over to squeeze one of Demora’s hands.

“We love singing to you, Dem,” Ben added, “We’d never plan on missing that.”

Demora smiled brightly before finishing her last piece of pizza.

“Well, we’re going to get ready for Jim’s,” Hikaru said, standing up, “Dem, you pack what you need for the Sh'rhaohrok’s and we’ll all leave shortly after that.”

“Alright,” Demora replied, skipping back to her room to collect a few things.

 

“I don’t understand how she always has so much energy,” Ben said as he and Hikaru entered their room and closed the door.

“I don’t even think I had that much energy when I was her age.” Hikaru replied, taking off his current shirt and replacing it with black dress shirt. He swapped his jeans for a pair of slim, black denim pants and some black dress shoes.

When Hikaru finished putting on his shoes, he looked up at Ben and asked, “Really?”

“What?” Ben asked him.

Hikaru rolled his eyes, “We’re wearing the exact same thing.”

 

Ben looked down at his own clothes; a black collared shirt, black pants and black shoes. Looking back at Hikaru, he realized that they were in fact dressed very similar.

“It’s not the exact same thing.” Ben said.

“It’s close enough,” Hikaru spoke.

“Well,” Ben began, “It wasn’t my intention to dress so similar to you; but you have to admit, we look ten times cuter with our matching outfits.”

 

Hikaru sighed, “Fine, we’ll both go to the party in the same clothes. But don’t blame me if we start getting teased for it.”

“It will give people something to talk about.” Ben replied, shrugging.

“I’m not so sure that’s a good thing, Ben,” Hikaru answered, walking over to the door, opening it and stepping out of the room.

“Would you prefer if I wear your Command Gold?” Ben grinned, “Because that will definitely give people something to talk about.”

“Okay, okay,” Hikaru interrupted, placing his hands on Ben’s shoulders, “You win, you can maintain your black on black aesthetic; just please don’t wear my uniform out in public. I don’t want to hear the rumors that would spread from you doing that.”

Ben smirked, “What makes you think that I haven’t already worn your uniform?”

 

Hikaru’s eyes widened, “You didn’t-”

“Oh yes I did.” Ben answered, “You left one of them behind and I recall wearing it quite often to work and for general trips around Yorktown.”

Hikaru rubbed his face with his hands, “Sometimes I wonder why I agreed to marry you.”

“You know you love me,” Ben spoke, kissing Hikaru’s neck before heading off to the bathroom.

 

“Okay, I’m ready!” Demora said from behind Hikaru. She was holding her Enterprise stuffie and was carrying her school backpack; except that it was stuffed with colouring books, art supplies and several beginner reading books.

The family left as soon as Ben was done in the washroom. Hikaru and Ben walked Demora to the Sh'rhaohrok’s.

“See you later, sweetie,” Ben spoke, giving the top of Demora’s head a kiss.

“We love you, we’ll be back before you know it.” Hikaru replied, kissing her cheek.

“Bye!” Demora cried out before entering the apartment.

 

Hikaru sighed, “I’m not sure if this is from being in space for too long but I miss her already.” Hikaru said to Ben, as they walked together.

“It’s because you’re too much of a softie,” Ben replied, wrapping an arm around his husband, “You care for your family a lot more than you think you do.”

Hikaru smiled, “Yeah, I suppose that’s true.” He said to himself, walking into the building where Jim’s secret birthday party was being held.

“Hikaru,” Nyota called out, approaching the two men, “It’s good to see you. Ben, how have you been?” She asked.

“I’m fine, the labs have been really busy lately. There’s been a whole new species of plants discovered on New Vulcan and I have to categorize and name all of them.”

“Oh, that’s exciting.”

Ben sighed, “It’s tiring,” Ben spoke, “Try to do all that work and keep up with a 4 year old daughter.”

Nyota winced, “Oh yeah, I can see that.” There was a brief pause before Nyota said, “Well you two seem way too sober; let’s get you guys some drinks.”

 

Ben went tense. “Uh, Nyota,” Hikaru spoke.

“Yeah?” She asked.

“Ben doesn’t drink.” Hikaru answered.

Nyota’s eyes went wide, “Oh shit, I forgot about that.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Ben said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Nyota was silent for a minute before speaking, “Can I buy you a non-alcoholic drink as an apology?”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Ben answered, “But I’ll take that drink if you’re still offering.”

Nyota laughed, “Okay, let’s go get you guys some drinks.”

 

She moved behind them and shoved them towards the bar, ordering several drinks for herself, 2 for Hikaru and 2 non-alcoholic drinks for Ben.

 

Hikaru and Ben both made it through their first drink by the time Bones showed up with Jim. Everyone at the party let out a, “Happy Birthday!”

Jim laughed, he raised a glass that Scotty had given him and made a toast.

“To the Enterprise,” he spoke.

“To the Enterprise,” everyone echoed.

“And...to absent friends,” Kirk finished.

Everyone raised their glasses and drank. When everyone started to mingle, Hikaru noticed Pavel talking to a female alien, mentioning that, “Scotch vas actually inwented in Russia.” Hikaru rolled his eyes, he had a lot of respect and care for that man, but he never stopped declaring that everything came from Russia.

Nyota noticed his staring and asked, “Do you know he was offered a promotion on the Reliant?”

Hikaru was shocked, “Really?”

“Yeah, Commodore Paris said that the Captain of the Reliant asked specifically for Pavel to be moved onto his ship.”

“Wow, good for him,” Hikaru spoke, “I’ll have to congratulate him after, it won’t be the same on the bridge without him.”

Nyota walked away to chat with Spock and Hikaru turned to his husband.

 

“I can see why you like it.” Ben spoke, staring out the window at the half constructed Enterprise A. “It’s incredible watching it get built.” Hikaru turned around to glance at the ship.

“Yeah, but I hear there’s there’s a new ship rumored to start construction shortly after the Enterprise is finished being built.”

“Let me guess, you want your hands on that one, don’t you?” Ben asked.

Hikaru hummed, “Yeah I do, I’d like to see how well she flys.”

Ben snickered.

“What?” Hikaru asked, feeling insulted.

“You’re like a 15 year old boy that just discovered puberty.”

Hikaru flushed and Ben laughed, “I’m teasing, I’m teasing.” Ben said, rubbing one of Hikaru’s arms, “It’s cute seeing you get starry eyed over space.”

Hikaru, unamused said, “Did you intend to make that joke or was that just a coincidence?”

Ben shrugged and winked at his husband, “Just a coincidence.”

 

Ben looked over and noticed the bridge crew congregating by the window, looking out at the new Enterprise. Ben playfully shoved Hikaru’s shoulder and nodded in their direction, “Go join them.” He spoke softly.

“But I-”

Ben interrupted him, “Go, I’ll be fine over here.”

Hikaru gave him a small smile, downed the rest of his drink and walked over to his crewmates.

 

Ben sighed, “It must be nice to have a family like that,” He thought to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have a headcanon that Ben doesn't drink and Hikaru drinks very little but has a hard time turning down someone when they offer to buy him a drink. And the more drinks he has, the harder it is to turn down a drink. Also when Nyota mentions that Pavel got promoted and transfered to the Reliant, it's heavily based on Wrath of Khan when Pavel became the first officer on the Reliant. 
> 
> It's also my way of saying a final goodbye to Anton. He will always be remembered and dearly missed.


	4. The Consequences of Drinking Saurian Brandy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru has a little too much to drink and Ben has to bring him home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, thank you to everyone who has read this story and has gotten this far. I'm still writing this story, it's over 30 000 words and I'm still writing. So I hope you will stick this out with me and please keep making beautiful art (fics, drawings, edits, etc.) I love writing about this family just as much as I love reading and seeing them through other people's art. And I encourage new artists who are uncertain about their works or don't think they're good enough, I promise you they are. Don't be afraid to put your art out there, it will be worth it! 
> 
> I love all of you and I hope you'll like this next chapter!

Ben was leaning against a table, sipping at his drink when he was interrupted by Bones.

“Hey Ben, how have you been?”

Ben looked up to see the doctor approaching his table with a drink. “Scotch?” Ben asked himself, “It’s either that or whiskey.”

“I’m fine, doc.” Ben spoke.

“It’s been awhile since we last talked.” Bones said, taking a sip from his glass.

Ben thought for a minute, “Yeah, I believe the last time we had a conversation was just after the five year mission started. You called me because Hikaru had gotten some sort of space virus and you were required to tell me.”

“Wow, has it really been that long?” Bones asked Ben.

 

But before the two could continue, Hikaru stumbled over to their table, crashing into it and almost falling to the floor.

“Oh my god!” Ben shrieked, “Hikaru are you alright?”

“‘m fine.” Hikaru slurred, “H-heeey Ben, I've been looking for you.” Hikaru spoke, pointing a limp finger somewhat in Ben’s direction. “H-have you tried this Saurian Brandy?”

“Hikaru, you know I don’t drink.” Ben answered.

“Right I forgot.” Hikaru replied, swaying on his feet, “‘Cause you don’t like what it does to people.”

 

Bones looked over to Ben, who looked extremely uncomfortable. He thought to himself, “Ben doesn’t drink? I didn’t know that; going by what Hikaru said and how uncomfortable Ben is, this could cause a lot of trouble for them.”

“Oh Bones,” Hikaru mumbled, “How long h-have you been standing there? You could sure use a drink.” Hikaru hiccuped. He was struggling to keep his balance, his hands weakly grabbing at the table.

 

“I have a drink already.” Bones answered, tipping his glass in Hikaru’s direction.

“Hikaru exactly how much of that brandy did you have?” Ben asked, his face growing with concern.

Hikaru giggled, “Lost count after seven. Jim had more though. 'm gonna get some more.” Hikaru let go of the table and was about to head back to the bar when a steady hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“Oh no you don't!” Ben spoke firmly, “You're coming home with me.” Ben steered Hikaru around towards the direction of the door.

“Ben if you wanted to sleep with me you could've asked.” Hikaru slurred, leaning heavily against Ben.

“We're going home because you need to stop drinking and get some rest.” Ben said, his voice wavering.

Bones was now more worried for Ben’s well-being than Hikaru’s.

 

“But I don't wanna!” Hikaru argued, struggling to cross his arms.

“Too bad, we're going home, now!” Ben answered, annoyed, “Say goodbye to Leonard.”

Bones could tell Ben was fighting back tears, “It must be hard for Ben to see Hikaru like this.” Bones thought quietly.

“Bye Bones,” Hikaru murmured.

Before they left, Bones handed Ben a hypo and spoke, "Stab him in the neck with this and he'll be fine within an hour."

Ben smiled weakly, "Thanks Doc."

 

Ben guided Hikaru back to their apartment; he opened the door to the apartment and walked Hikaru down the hall, into their bedroom and onto their bed. Ben helped Hikaru change into some clothes that were more appropriate for sleeping and laid him down on his side. Ben stabbed the hypo into Hikaru’s neck, pulled the covers overtop of his drunk husband and was about to leave the room when he heard a muffled, “Ben?”

Ben didn’t want to deal with this right now, he just wanted to bring Demora home and forget about this night.

“Ben?”

Ben was silent, he hoped that if he didn’t say anything that this conversation would end immediately.

“Ben?”

“Yeah?” He answered bitterly.

“I’m sorry for before,” Hikaru spoke softly.

Ben sighed heavily.

“It’s fine,” He spat.

“No it’s not, I know how you feel about people drinking and I went and did the exact thing that you hate when people drink.”

Ben sighed, rubbing at his temples, “You know how I feel about drinking and usually it’s fine. I can deal with it. But this time, Hikaru I-”

Ben broke off, a few tears falling from his eyes.

“It’s hard for me to see you like that and I hate seeing people close to me go through that and get like that. A little drinking is fine, but that’s not Hikaru! That’s not fine!” Ben answered, getting angry. Which was a rare occurrence for the man, he was usually too sweet for his own good, but there were things that frustrated him beyond belief.

 

Hikaru tried his best to sit up, faltering a few times before falling back down. Ben, giving him pity, walked over to the man and helped him up. Hikaru mumbled a quick, “Thanks,” before gathering his thoughts. “I know and I’m so sorry, I understand if you’re angry and upset with me for a long time over this. And you have the right to be. I deserve it. I did something dumb and I’ll pay the price for it.”

Hikaru looked down at the floor, “Even if that means you have to leave me,” He murmured.

 

Ben, shocked, grabbed Hikaru’s face in his hands and spoke a soft, “What makes you think I’m going to leave you?”

Hikaru looked ashamed, “Because I betrayed your trust and I went against your morals and I’m a terrible person for doing so.”

Ben flicked Hikaru’s forehead, “Hey! Listen to me,” Ben started, “Yes, you did something that I’m not happy you did, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to leave you for that. Yes, I’m still mad at you and I’m disappointed and upset but I still love you.”

Ben pecked Hikaru’s cheeks, “That’s why this is so hard for me. Because I love you and it’s painful to see you in a state like that. But even if you end up like that, I’m still going to take care of you, because I love you.” Ben pulled Hikaru into his arms squeezed him tightly. Ben continued, “And nothing’s ever going to change that.”

“I’m so sorry,” Hikaru spoke, muffled by Ben’s shoulder.

Ben sighed, “I know.”

They stayed like that for awhile until Ben spoke, “I’m going to go get Dem, when I get back, you better have brushed your teeth. You smell like a liquor store.”

 

Ben stood up and walked out of the apartment and towards the Sh'rhaohrok’s. He knocked on the door twice and waiting until it opened. Ms. Sh'rhaohrok answered it and smiled when she saw Ben.

“Ben! You’re back already?”

“Yeah, Hikaru got a little-” Ben made a chugging motion and Ms. Sh'rhaohrok instantly understood what he meant.

“Oh! Well, it happens to the best of us,” She spoke, “I’ll go get Demora," She disappeared into the apartment. There was some mumbled chatter from inside and soon Demora came running towards Ben, with her backpack full of entertainment.

“Papa!” She screeched, jumping into his arms.

Ben laughed, “Hey sweetie.”

 

“Did you behave yourself?” Ben asked after saying goodbye to the Sh'rhaohroks and heading back to their apartment.

“Yes I did, Ms. Sh'rhaohrok baked me cookies and we ate them while I coloured.”

“Well that sure sounds like fun.” Ben spoke, opening the apartment and closing the door behind them.

“Where’s Daddy?” Demora asked.

Ben chuckled nervously, “He...uh, he’s not feeling very well. His stomach is a little upset and he’s got a huge headache. He’ll be okay soon but for now he needs some rest.”

“Awww,” Demora let out, “Well, tell Daddy I hope he feels better.”

“I will.”

“Will you still sing to me tonight?” Demora asked.

Ben looked heart broken, “Sorry Dem, I know we promised we would but your father needs rest and he needs quiet.”

Demora looked down at the ground disheartened. Ben knew he couldn’t send her to bed like that.

“How about a quick one?” Ben asked.

Demora’s face lit up and she nodded happily.

Ben followed her into her room and sung her a short relaxing song that had her asleep within seconds.

 

Smiling to himself, Ben quietly left the room and returned to his own room. He changed out of his party clothes and into a pair of pajamas just as Hikaru spoke, “That was a beautiful song, Ben.”

“You heard that?” Ben asked.

“Yeah.”

“Was it too loud for your head?” Ben questioned, quietly.

“No, it was perfect,” Hikaru paused for a minute, “Come here.” He spoke.

Ben followed his command and climbed under the covers and shifted so that he was next to Hikaru.

“First,” Hikaru began, “I brushed my teeth.”

“Good,” Ben answered, “Now I won’t feel like I’m kissing a cocktail.” Ben said as he placed a soft kiss on Hikaru’s lips.

 

“And second,” Hikaru spoke again, “I’ve decided to give up drinking.”

“What?” Ben asked, stunned.

“I feel horrible for what I did and never want you to go through that again. And I never want you to worry about whether or not I’ve had too much to drink. So, I’m not going to drink again.”

“Hikaru you don’t have to do that.” Ben spoke.

“No I don’t, but you are far more important to me than some dumb drinks. Plus I’d rather be with you when I’m sober than with you while I’m drunk out of my mind.”

 

Ben smiled, bringing Hikaru up against his chest. “I appreciate that, but if you ever want to have a couple of drinks, that’s still fine with me.”

Hikaru shook his head, “But it’s not fine with me.”

Ben kissed Hikaru’s head, “We should get to sleep, I work tomorrow, you’re still tipsy and are taking Dem to school.”

“Yeah, we should go to bed.”

“Goodnight Hikaru,” Ben whispered.

“‘Night Ben,” Hikaru whispered back.

 

Ben was woken up by Demora shaking his arm roughly.

“Dem?” Ben asked, “What is it?” He asked rubbing his eyes.

“I had a bad dream.” Demora spoke on the verge of tears.

“Oh sweetie,” Ben spoke, sympathetically, “Come here.”

Ben lifted her up onto the bed and placed her beside him. He leaned over and flicked Hikaru’s forehead, rather roughly.

“Mmmm,” Hikaru mumbled in his sleep.

Ben flicked him again and Hikaru woke up with a cry of, “OW!”

“Oh good,” Ben said, unphased by Hikaru’s slight pain and annoyance, “You’re up. Dem’s had a bad dream.” Ben explained to Hikaru as Demora crawled in between them.

“Oh, Dem,” Hikaru said, playing with her hair, “I’m sorry about that.”

 

Demora wrapped her arms around Hikaru’s chest and spoke, “I dreamed that the sky got mad again. Just like it did before me and Papa’s picnic.” A few tears fell down her face and Ben moved closer to the two and wrapped his arms around them. He brushed the tears from Demora’s face, whispering, “It’s okay,” and, “You’re safe now.”

Demora snuggled into both of her Papa and her Dad’s embraces.

“Will you sing to me?” Demora asked.

“Of course we will, Dem,” They answered.

Hikaru and Ben whispered to each other until they decided on a song.

 

Demora was silent, clinging onto Hikaru’s chest until they began to sing.

_“Let's get out of this town, baby we're on fire_

_Everyone around here seems to be going down, down, down_

_If you stick with me, I can take you higher, and higher,”_

Demora could feel herself relaxing from the sound of her parents voices. She closed her eyes as she continued to listen.

 

_“It feels like all of our friends are lost_

_Nobody's found, found, found_

_I got so scared, I thought no one could save me_

_You came along scooped me up like a baby.”_

Demora let out a huge yawn, as she began to fall asleep.

 

_“Every now and then the stars align_

_Boy and girl meet by the great design_

_Could it be that you and me are the lucky ones?”_

Ben looked down at Demora, smiling when he saw her even breaths and heard her light snore. Going by Hikaru’s soft chuckle, he also knew that Demora was fast asleep.

 

“Should we continue?” Ben whispered to Hikaru.

Hikaru looked up at him and answered, “Let’s finish the chorus and stop there.”

“Okay,” Ben replied.

 

_“Everybody told me love was blind_

_Then I saw your face and you blew my mind_

_Finally, you and me are the lucky ones this time.”_

 

Hikaru and Ben smiled at Demora, she seemed so at peace whenever she slept. It always made them happier whenever she’d fall asleep to one of their songs. When Ben looked over at Hikaru, the man was already asleep, holding one of Demora’s hands. “I’m so lucky to have a family like this.” Ben thought quietly.

 

Ben closed his eyes as he darkness surrounded himself. His last thought before he fell asleep was, “I love my family.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song in this chapter is "Lucky Ones" by Lana del Rey, check it out, it's a beautiful song. 
> 
> Okay, as always, the next chapter will be posted in a couple of days and I just uploaded the next chapter of "Planty Romance" for those of you who are reading it. If there's anything that you would like to add to this story or any other stories, please let me know. 
> 
> I hope to see you all again in the next chapter!


	5. Doctor Bones and Broken Bones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Ben returns to work and Demora goes back to school, Hikaru spends some quality time alone. That is until he gets a surprising call from Demora's teacher...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, chapter 5 and still going strong. Thank you to everyone who is still reading this story of mine, you are all fantastic and I love all of you!!
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this not-so-little chapter.

The Sulu family all woke up to the comforting sound of Ben’s alarm clock blasting in their ears at 6:30 in the morning. Demora groaned, covering her ears with her hands and Hikaru grabbed a pillow and stuffed his face into it. As for Ben, he peacefully stretched out his sore arms, turned off the alarm and started his usual morning routine.

 

Looking back at his family, he rolled his eyes at the sight of Demora and Hikaru rolling around on the bed; both muttering how it was way too early to be up.

Ben turned on the coffee pot, knowing Hikaru would be 10 times grumpier if he didn’t get his coffee. Ben made himself a bowl of cereal and sat down at the table to eat it.

“Let’s see, today’s Monday,” Ben thought to himself, “That means there will be a ‘surprise’ inspection of my lab, I told my boss I’d come in extra early and Mr. Tyndall will most likely be hungover from yesterday.” Ben raised a single eyebrow, “Well, that will be an interesting combination,” He murmured out loud.

 

“I don’t understand how you get up so early,” Hikaru spoke 10 minutes after Ben had finished his cereal.

“When you have a 4 year old daughter, you have to get up early.” Ben answered, “Otherwise, she’ll jump on your stomach until you wake up.”

Hikaru smirked, “Well what’s wrong with that?”

Ben rolled his eyes, “Remind me again why I married you.”

“Because you love me,” Hikaru spoke, pouring himself a coffee, “And you can’t resist me,” He finished, giving Ben a peck on the cheek.

 

“Is Dem up yet?” Ben asked.

“No, and she shouldn’t be,” Hikaru replied, “She’s four, Ben, she needs her sleep.”

“It’s weird how that works.”

“How what works?” Hikaru asked.

“That when you’re really young and really old all you want to do is sleep. But when you’re in the middle, you never seem to get a wink of sleep.”

Hikaru shrugged, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

 

They maintained a steady conversation while Hikaru made and ate his breakfast of avocado toast. When Hikaru finished, he took a brief nap on the couch and Ben went down to the courtyard to briefly check on their plants in the greenhouse. An hour later, Demora woke up and made her way to the kitchen, yawning. Ben greeted her from the dining room, “Morning Dem,” He called.

“Morning Papa,” She yawned, reaching up to grab the oatmeal that was sitting on the counter. She made her oatmeal, just the way she liked it and sat down at the table with Ben. Her eyes were tired and she had a line of drool that went from her mouth to the bottom of her chin.

Ben chuckled, licking his thumb and reaching over to clean the drool from his daughter’s face.

“Ew, gross!” Demora shrieked when Ben tried to clean her face.

“Dem, just stay still,” He spoke, removing the stain with his saliva covered thumb.

Demora, winced and scrunched up her face, but allowed Ben to finish cleaning her. When Ben was done, Demora instantly rubbed her face with her sleeve, trying to remove the wet patch of spit that Ben left behind.

 

“If you do that, Papa’s just going to keep doing it more.” Hikaru spoke as he got up from the couch and made his way to the dining room.

“It’s gross,” Demora complained, jamming her spoon into her oatmeal.

“Not as gross as having dried spit on your face,” Hikaru argued, “And don’t take it out on your oatmeal! It didn’t do anything wrong.”

Demora frowned, shoving a spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth.

Hikaru kissed her forehead and said, “We love you sweetie, we’re just trying to take care of you.”

“I know,” Demora mumbled, picking up her empty bowl and putting it into the sink.

 

Ben glanced down at his watch and paled when he saw the time, “Oh no.” He spoke quickly.

“What?” Hikaru asked.

“I told my boss I’d be in early today and if I don’t leave immediately, I’ll be late for work.” Ben spat out. He gave Hikaru a quick kiss on the lips, “I’ll see you later when we pick Dem up from school,” He said rapidly. He headed over to Demora and gave her a hug and a kiss on her cheek, “Be good today, have fun and learn lots.”

She laughed lightly, “I will.”

Ben smiled and shouted a, “I love you guys,” Before he bolted out the door and out of the building.

 

Hikaru shook his head, “How does he manage such a career and care for Dem when I’m away?” He asked himself. “He never fails to impress me.”

“Daddy,” Demora spoke, pulling on his shirt.

“Yes, sweetie?” He asked.

“Shouldn’t we be leaving soon too?”

Hikaru looked at the time, “Not quite yet but you definitely should get dressed and I’ll do the same.”

 

Hikaru and Demora left for school 20 minutes later, Demora insisted she hold Hikaru’s hand because she didn’t want to lose him in the crowd. But Hikaru knew it was because she missed him and she didn’t want to leave his company, not yet. When they got to Demora’s school, Hikaru pulled her off to the side, “Do your best today, okay Dem?” Hikaru asked.

Demora smiled, “Of course, I’ll never get into Starfleet if I don’t always try my best.”

Hikaru beamed, he brought Demora in for a hug, “Don’t worry, you’ll get into Starfleet easily.”

“Really?” She asked.

“I know you will, and you’ll become the Federation’s next best pilot.”

Demora blushed and pulled away from their hug. She let out a, “Bye Daddy!” Before she disappeared into the school.

“Bye Dem,” He answered, even though there was no one around.

 

Hikaru was relaxing in the apartment, he forgot how good it felt to just lie down and listen to the hustle and bustle of the city and it’s people. He expected peace and quiet for several long hours before Hikaru had to meet Ben at work and pick up Demora. What he wasn’t expecting was a call on his Personal PADD at 10:00 in the morning.

 

Groaning, he got up off his bed, sat down at his desk and answered the call. He didn’t recognize the number and hoped it wasn’t someone trying to sell him a digital set of illegal Borg videos. That happened to a friend of his in the Academy, the caller robbed him of all his personal information and his friend was framed for several Academy offences he didn’t commit. Luckily the caller was caught, but Hikaru was still paranoid that the same would happen to him.

When the call connected, it showed a young Deltan in her late-twenties. She was wearing a scarlet sweater and a white translucent scarf. She looked at Hikaru with concerned eyes, “Mr. Hikaru Sulu?” She asked.

“Yes?” Hikaru answered.

“I’m Ilhuh Ruettez, I’m Demora’s teacher.”

Hikaru nodded, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You’re Demora’s other father, right?”

“Yes I am,” Hikaru spoke, “Is there something wrong?” He asked.

She sighed, “I’m afraid there is, Demora has-” She paused for a second.

“Is she in trouble?” Hikaru asked, “She’s a wonderful, sweet girl. She’d never do anything wrong, I can promise that.”

“No, she’s not in trouble,” She spoke, “I’m afraid she’s broken her leg.”

“What?” Hikaru asked confused.

“She and her classmates were outside for recess when she tripped and landed on the concrete curb outside.”

Hikaru winced, “Oh my god! Is she okay?”

“She’s in the nurse’s office but she’ll need to be taken to a hospital to get her leg taken care of.”

“Uh, okay,” Hikaru replied, “I’ll be there right away.”

 

Hikaru ended the call and grabbed his PADD on the way out the door. He called Ben as quickly as he could without knocking into people in the street. Ben picked up after a few rings, “Hikaru?” Ben asked, “What is it? I’m kind of busy right now.”

“Dem’s broken her leg, meet me at Springfield Hospital.” Hikaru spoke quickly, moving in between the crowds of people.

“What?” Ben blurted out, “Dem’s done what? Is she okay?”

“I’m not sure,” Hikaru answered, “I’m on my way to pick her up and I’ll bring her to Springfield after.”

“Uh, okay, I’ll finish up here and I’ll meet you at the hospital.” Ben replied, gathering his things.

“See you soon!” Hikaru finished, ending the call.

 

He ran into the school and into the front office.

“Hi, how can I help you?” The Orion secretary asked.

“I’m here for Demora Sulu, I’m here to take her to the hospital.” Hikaru answered, out of breath.

“Ah, you must be Hikaru Sulu, Ms. Ruettez said you would be stopping by shortly. Have a seat, a nurse will bring her here.”

“Thank you,” Hikaru spoke, sitting in the very uncomfortable office chairs.

 

Several minutes passed before Hikaru heard a soft voice behind him, “Daddy?”

Immediately Hikaru turned around, in front of him was a red eyed, tear stained Demora, leaning heavily on her left leg. He could help but notice that her right calf was swollen, bent in an unusual, unnatural way and was turning a dark shade of purple.

Hikaru’s heart broke, “Oh sweetie,” He murmured softly, bending down and lightly wrapping his arms around his daughter.

“It hurts,” She sobbed into his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” He answered, rubbing her back, “We’ll get you to a hospital and they’ll take care of that right away.”

 

Hikaru lifted her up into his arms, gently supporting her broken, swollen leg. He carried her out of the school and towards the hospital. When they got there, Hikaru was surprised to see the building empty. He approached the man at the front desk and spat out, “My daughter’s broken her leg, we need to see a doctor.”

The man looked up at him and gave Demora’s leg a quick check.

“You’ll have to fill these out,” He spoke, handing Hikaru a PADD with several forms loaded onto it, “Before we can take her in.”

Hikaru took the PADD with a quick, “Thank you,” before setting Demora down into an empty chair and taking the seat to her right. Demora twiddled her thumbs nervously, her eyes scanning around the room, looking for something to distract her. She tried not to move, because even the slightest shift of her body, sent shockwaves of pain up her leg.

Demora glanced over at Hikaru and grabbed his sleeve with her hands. She rested her head against his bicep, whimpering softly.

 

Hikaru looked at her sadly, “Don’t worry Dem,” He spoke softly, “We’ll get you all fixed up and then we can go for ice cream after.”

Demora lit up at the mention of ice cream, like any 4 year old would, “Can I get a double scoop cone with extra sprinkles?” She asked, a smile spreading across her face.

“You can get whatever you want. But if you’re extra brave when we go in there, I’ll let you have my ice cream as well.”

She grinned, snuggling into Hikaru’s side, ignoring the twinge of pain she felt when shifted her body.

 

Hikaru was halfway through filling out the first form when Ben walked in, looking panicked and out of breath. His eyes immediately landed on the two and he jogged over to them.

“Papa!” Demora said happily, without moving away from Hikaru.

Ben kneeled in front of her, “Hey, sweetie, how are you feeling?” He asked, concerned.

“It hurts but Daddy said that we’ll get ice cream after this and if I’m really strong, I get to have his too!” She spoke, full of excitement.

Ben smiled, “Well aren’t you lucky?” He gave her a kiss on the forehead and sat in the chair to her left. He reached over and grabbed one of her hands and gave it a light squeeze.

 

Once Hikaru had finished filling out the forms, he detached himself from Demora and handed to PADD back to the secretary. “Okay, I’ll notify the doctor and we’ll treat her as soon as possible.” The man spoke. Hikaru sat back down with his family; it wasn’t long before a nurse came in and asked for Demora. Hikaru picked her up and followed the nurse down a long hallway with Ben trailing behind him. They were led into a small room with two chairs, a small cabinet and a biobed. Above the biobed was a series of screens used for displaying things like the patient’s pulse, breathing rate, blood pressure. Ben sat down in one of the chairs as Hikaru set Demora down on the biobed and sat down in the other chair.

 

Demora looked at them worriedly, “What if they can’t fix my leg?” Demora asked, “What if it’s broken forever? Will I ever walk again? How will I get into Starfleet if my leg’s permanently broken?”

“Dem! Sweetie,” Ben spoke, interrupting his daughter’s rant, “You’ll be fine, they can fix your leg and you’ll be on your feet again before you know it.”

“Really?” She asked, rubbing at her sore eyes.

Ben got up from his chair and sat next to her on the biobed, “Of course, they’re not going to let Starfleet’s next best pilot’s career end before it’s even been started.” Ben replied, wrapping one arm around Demora and grabbing her hand with the other.

Demora gave a couple of light sniffles before leaning against Ben lightly.

“Thanks, Papa!” She spoke quietly.

 

Demora sat up straight, still keeping a firm grip on Ben’s hand, when she heard the door handle jiggle. She was surprised when Bones walked in looking down at his PADD.

“Uncle Leo!” She screamed excitedly.

“Demora?” He asked, “What are you doing here?” He looked at he and his eyes stopped when he saw he leg.

“My God!” He exclaimed, “What have you done?”

Demora hunched in on herself, “I tripped.”

“How does your leg feel?” He asked, scanning Demora’s leg while reading the tricoder.

“It hurts, a lot,” She spoke softly, squeezing Ben’s hand.

Bones resisted rolling his eyes, he scanned her with the tricoder, going over her leg a second time. “Well, in comparison to the trouble your Uncle Jim gets into, this is nothing.”

“Really?” She asked.

“Yup, I’ll just use the bone-knitting laser and you’ll be all patched up.”

“Thanks, Uncle Leo!” She said, smiling.

 

Bones got out the laser and was about to go over Demora’s leg when the machine wouldn’t work. “Hmmm,” Bones spoke, “Well that’s odd.”

Ben’s eyebrows furrowed, “What’s wrong, doc?” Hikaru asked.

“The laser’s unresponsive,” He answered. Bones took one more look at the laser before sighing, “Well, I guess we’ll have to do this the old fashioned way.” He spoke, leaving the room and coming back with a roll of bandages and three safety pins.

“We haven’t had to use casts for broken bones in over 100 years, so I’m afraid all I can do for you right now is wrap up your leg, give you a hypo and a pair of crutches. Then, hopefully, in several weeks your bones will have been mended and you’ll be all better.”

 

Bones started working on wrapping up Demora’s leg, he went over it twice before fastening it with the safety pins.

“There, that ought to do the trick,” Bones said, walking over to a nearby cabinet and getting out a hypo. He walked back to Demora and said, “This might pinch a bit, but if you keep squeezing onto you Papa’s hand, you’ll barely even notice it.”

Demora tightened her grip on Ben’s hand.

“You ready?” Bones asked.

Demora nodded.

“3...2...1,” Bones counted down as he injected the painkiller into Demora’s neck. She let out a small whimper and her face contorted in pain. She squeezed Ben’s hand so hard, Leonard was almost certain that Ben would need to be checked for any broken bones.

“Well done Demora, I think you deserve one of these,” He spoke cheerfully, he reached over and grabbed a jar of lollipops and offered Demora one. Her eyes widened and she grabbed out a handful of them, popping one into her mouth and keeping the rest in her hand. If it were anyone else, Bones would insist they could only take one, but he had a soft spot for Demora and couldn’t resist letting her have multiple sweets.

 

Bones left the room again and returned with a set of small crutches, he showed Ben, Hikaru and Demora how the ancient things worked and how to adjust the size to suit Demora. He wouldn’t let them leave until Demora could comfortably use them to cross the room, turn around and do it again. It took her several tries, she fell down the first two times but eventually, she got the hang of them.

The family said their goodbyes and thank you’s to Bones as they left the hospital. Hikaru and Ben slowly followed behind Demora, who was enjoying using her crutches.

“Daddy, Papa, look at how fast I can go!” She spoke, speeding away on her crutches.

Ben panicking, ran after her, “Dem be careful, you can’t just run off like that!”

When Hikaru caught up to them, he heard Demora giggling.

“But I’m not running, so it’s okay.”

Hikaru chuckled, “Technically, she is correct.”

Ben shot an unamused glare at his husband and said, “You’re not helping.”

Hikaru shrugged, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He spoke innocently.

Ben rubbed at his temples, “I married you, I proposed to you, I agreed to go on a date with you. Why? Why did I do that?”

 

Hikaru jumped at Ben, wrapping his legs around his waist and placing his hands on Ben’s shoulders. Ben laughed lightly and wrapped his arms around Hikaru.

“Because you fell in love with me and you knew we were supposed to get married and have a beautiful daughter together.” Hikaru spoke, giving Ben a quick kiss on the lips before letting go of Ben and climbing down off of him.

Ben smiled and wrapped an arm around Hikaru, “I love both of you tremendously.”

Both Hikaru and Demora beamed, “We love you too, Papa!” Demora spoke, hobbling over to Ben and hugging his legs.

Ben crouched down and gave Demora a kiss on both of her cheeks.

  
  
“Alright. Now, who wants ice cream?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got most of the medical information for this chapter from Memory Alpha, so if there's something wrong about the medical information I put into this chapter, please let me know and I will correct it. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed it and will continue to read this story!


	6. Ice Cream and Laughter: The Recipe for Happiness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demora struggles to deal with her broken leg, but luckily she has some people to help her out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, chapter 6, this chapter is more centered on Demora, because I feel like I haven't given her enough attention in my stories and she's just so sweet, I had to include more of her life in this story. This chapter is super sweet and I hope you'll enjoy it!

The family walked into a small ice cream parlour and were seated at a booth with window overlooking Yorktown’s Central Plaza. Ben had to admit, it was a magnificent view; it filled him with pride whenever he saw Yorktown like this. Everything that was near and dear to his heart was all influenced by Yorktown. Hikaru’s love for deep space had brought himself and Demora here and since Ben had gone to the Academy, it was easy for him to be relocated on the starbase.

There were many great schools for Demora to go to on Yorktown. Ben and Hikaru had talked for hours through video calls, trying to determine which one would be best for Demora. They finally settled on Eastside Kindergarten, it had an amazing program for children of Starfleet parents and offered a 24/7 daycare for parents that worked strange or long hours. However, once Demora finished Kindergarten, she would be transferred to the Elementary school attached to the Kindergarten.

 

Ben loved being on Yorktown, it was his second home. His first being his beautiful daughter and his outstanding husband.

 

“Ben!” Hikaru shouted, shaking Ben out of his thoughts.

Ben, startled, looked over at Hikaru.

Hikaru chuckled lightly, “Oh there you are! I thought we had lost you.”

Ben smiled, “It’s been 8 years, but I’m still falling in love with this man.” Ben thought to himself.

“Sorry, just thinking about my wonderful family.” Ben replied warmly.

“Hmmm, who’s this family you speak of?” Hikaru asked innocently.

“Oh, no one really. Just my ridiculous husband and my spectacular daughter.” Ben teased.

Demora laughed as Hikaru questioned, “Who are you calling ridiculous?”

“You obviously!” Ben cackled, flicking Hikaru’s cheek lightly.

“OW!” Hikaru cried.

“Phfff,” Ben exhaled, “Oh come on, you’re a Starfleet officer. You’ve been through hell and back a hundred times...and that,” Ben spoke, gesturing to Hikaru’s cheek, “Is what causes you pain?”

Hikaru placed a hand on his chest, “I am a sensitive person, Ben.” Hikaru replied, grinning from ear to ear.

Ben rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, sure you are.” He spoke, looking down at his digital menu.

Demora giggled, “Papa and Daddy are so sweet.” She answered, climbing over the table and wedging herself in between them.

 

A few minutes later, their waiter came, took their orders and left to go make them. Their orders came relatively quickly. Demora’s Berry Buster Bash came first; Hikaru rolled his eyes at how high the ice cream was stacked in her sugar cone. She rushed to eat it before it melted down the sides of her cone and onto the table. When Demora had finished her cone, Hikaru had shoved his Chocolate Almond Sundae over to her, due to their promise earlier. Ben gave the man pity and offered to share his Coffee Waffle Bowl with him; Hikaru took a spoon and helped Ben finish his ice cream.

“Man, is this ice cream ever good!” Hikaru exclaimed, shoving more into his mouth.

“Yup, ice cream, very healthy.” She giggled, spooning more ice cream into her mouth.

Ben and Hikaru froze, “Did Demora really just say that?” They asked each other telepathically.

“Dem?” Ben asked, concerned, “How do you know sarcasm?”

“Daddy taught me!” She answered with a smile.

 

Ben glared daggers at Hikaru.

“Now look what you’ve done!” Ben answered, annoyed.

“What I’ve done?” Hikaru asked, slightly angry.

“You’ve taught our daughter sarcasm!” Ben huffed.

“Oh please,” Hikaru let out, “She’s known sarcasm for ages.”

Ben’s eyes shot open, “She’s what?”

“I figured you knew.” Hikaru replied shrugged.

“Oh my god, Hikaru,” Ben muttered, rubbing his forehead. “How long has she known sarcasm?”

Hikaru thought for a minute, “About 3 months, it was right after the Enterprise stopped for supplies on Vulcan.”

“You taught our daughter sarcasm,” Ben repeated, slower and under his breath.

“Well if it makes you feel any better,” Hikaru began, “Now, we can be sarcastic without worrying that Dem will pick it up.”

 

Ben elbowed Hikaru in the crotch. Other than his whining, Hikaru was silent until their waiter came and gave them their digital receipt.

 

\----- _Demora’s P.O.V: Several Days Later_ \-----

 

Demora learned very quickly, that having a cast and getting around on crutches, sucked. Yeah, the extra attention was nice but she hated the aches in her shoulders, that itch in the middle of her calf that she just couldn’t get rid of and stairs. She had slipped and fallen down the stairs so many times, she stopped counting after 10.

But the worst thing, by far, about having a broken leg was how alone and isolated she felt during recess. She couldn’t run around with her friends or participate in the games the rest of her classmates could. She would sit against the wall of the school and watch as everyone else ran around, laughing and having fun.

Today wasn’t any different. Demora was up against the brick wall, watching as a small group of Andorians played freeze tag.

“I can’t believe that game still exists,” She thought to herself.

 

“Hey Demora!”

Demora looked up to see her best friend, Jivvaa, standing in front of her with the rest of their friend group.

Jivvaa plopped herself down, next to Demora and spoke, “You looked lonely, we came to join you, if that’s okay.”

Demora smiled, “Yeah, that’s fine,” She answered, prompting the rest of her friends, Isyn, T’Rel and Konane, to sit down. They arranged themselves in a circle and played several Earth orientated games, upon Demora’s request.

 

They complained throughout Would You Rather and whooped in victory whenever someone won Stella Stella Ola.

_“Yeah! Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Isyn declared proudly, as the rest of the group cheered._

_“Only 2 more and you’ll be tied with Demora,” T’Rel spoke._

_“Demora you’ve got this,” Konane answered, “Take him down!”_

_“Konane, don’t turn us against each other,” T’Rel responed._

_“Yeah, do you want another repeat of the Federation Tag Incident?” Jivvaa asked._

_The whole group shivered._

_“I don’t think any of us want a repeat of that.” Konane answered._

 

They laughed and giggled while playing truth or dare.

_“Dare!” Konane declared proudly._

_“Run around the field while waving your arms above your head.”_

_Konane stood up while shouting, “I’ll do it for Demora!”_

_The group watched and laughed loudly as Konane screamed at the top of his lungs; weaving through the other students and flailing his arms wildly above his head. Demora burst out laughing and when Konane rejoined the group, she struggled to contain her laughter._

 

Demora had never felt so lucky to have friends like this. They knew when she needed cheering up and could make her laugh until her lungs burned and her stomach hurt; and later on, when the bell rang, her leg no longer hurt and her shoulders no longer ached.

 

Laughter truly was the best medicine.

 

\----- _Several Months Later_ \-----

 

It had been a couple of months since Demora had broken her leg; and now, she was sitting on a biobed waiting for Bones to determine if her leg was fully healed yet. She partially didn’t want it to be healed; she had gotten so much attention over her broken leg. All her classmates had crowded around her, spitting out a thousand questions and asking if they could all sign her makeshift cast.

 

\----- _Demora’s P.O.V : Past_ \-----

 

_Demora hobbled to school with Hikaru and Ben trailing behind her. She was still struggling with using her crutches and she winced at the pain they caused her shoulders. Ben had phoned his work to tell them he’d be arriving late to work because he wanted to make sure that Demora could get to school in her current condition._

_As the three of them got to the front entrance of Demora’s school, she turned around and said her goodbyes to her parents._

_“Goodbye Papa,” She spoke as Ben leaned down and gave her a quick kiss._

_“I’ll see you later at dinner, okay?” Ben asked._

_“Okay!” She replied happily._

 

_Hikaru walked over and gave Demora a quick hug, “I’ll pick you up after school, call me if you need anything or if you want to come home, okay?”_

_“I’ll be fine,” Demora answered, “You’re looking at Starfleet’s next greatest pilot! Nothing can stop me!” She finished, bouncing on her one leg._

_The two men smiled as they walked away, “We love you sweetheart,” They called._

_“I love you too!” She shouted back._

 

_Demora stumbled her way to her classroom, bumping into several arches and several students. Once she entered the room, she was immediately bombarded by her classmates surrounding her prodding her with questions. Demora, to her best ability, tried to answer all the questions they had asked her._

_“Your leg!”_

_“My leg?”_

_“Demora what happened?”_

_“I tripped.”_

_“Are you okay?”_

_“Yeah, I’m fine.”_

_“Did you break it?”_

_“Yeah, I broke it.”_

_“Why does your leg look like that?”_

_“I fell on the ground and it snapped in half.”_

_“Does it hurt?”_

_“A little, it hurts more if I move.”_

_“What are those metal things under your arms?”_

_“I think they’re called c-clutches, they help me walk when my leg is broken.”_

_“Can I try them?”_

_“Yeah sure,” She answered, sitting down in her chair and handing over her crutches to one of her classmates. Several of her peers had tried out her crutches before their teacher, Ms. Ruettez, walked through the door and told everyone to take their seats._

 

_Later on, at lunch, several students surrounded Demora and asked if they could sign the cast on her leg._

_Demora lit up, “You want to sign my cast?” She asked excitedly._

_“Yeah!” They all spoke together, “It would be awesome.”_

_Demora smiled and pulled a marker out from her desk and handed it to the group of people gathered by her desk. Each of them took turns writing their names on Demora’s bandaged leg; some of them wrote little messages for Demora telling her to, “Get Better Soon,” or, “I hope you feel better.”_

_Very quickly, this spread throughout the room and before Demora knew it, everyone in the class had either signed her cast or was waiting in a long line to sign her cast. Demora beamed at every comment, at every name that was written on her cast. She couldn’t believe the pride and joy she felt in her heart as her classmates gave her their sympathy and compassion._

 

_When lunch was over, Demora couldn’t focus for the rest of the day. Her eyes were glued to the words written on her cast; she ran her hand along the length of the cast, her hand passing over every word, every letter on her leg. It was then that she knew, she was loved by people other than her dads and her 6_ _space travelling_ _godparents._ _Her four grandparents, two on each side, loved her. Her earthbound Aunt Yuki and Uncles, Aiko, Shokei, and Seong cherished her._

_She was loved by everyone she knew._

 

_When school was over, she was surprised to see both of her dads standing outside the school waiting for her. They seemed to be talking about the various plants that were planted by Demora’s class last month. Each student was allowed to choose one flora to plant outside as long as it was docile. Demora had chosen to plant the Dionaea muscipula that her Papa had acquired 8 years ago; the same one that had bit Hikaru when he and Ben first met. It took a lot of convincing of the school board, but Ben persuaded the adults and confirmed that he had found a cure 7 ½ years ago for the 6 foot tall Venus Fly Trap. He also confirmed that it wouldn’t cause any harm to anyone, providing it was fed regularly._

_Demora could still remember the screams of the students when she was allowed to bring in the plant and put it in the garden. She beamed when it was finally in the ground and gave it a rub under it’s chin, making the plant purr happily. She would miss it when she went home and it wasn’t there, but it made school more tolerable with her 6 foot tall best friend._

 

_Demora hobbled to her parents, screeching loudly, “DADDY! PAPA!!!”_

_The two men turned and saw Demora stumbling towards them with a huge smile stretched across her face. She dropped her crutches as Ben lifted her into his arms; giving her a trail of kisses, from her forehead, down her nose, to her chin._

_“I thought you’d still be working.” She spoke._

 

_Hikaru wrapped his arms around the two and buried his face into Demora’s hair. Shortly after, Hikaru let go and picked up Demora’s discarded crutches. Hikaru and Ben, who was still holding Demora, headed back home._

 

\----- _Present-----_

 

Demora couldn’t sit still, she was anxiously fiddling her fingers together and bouncing her legs from where they hung off the biobed. When Bones finished scanning her with the tricorder, he spoke, “Well, as far as I can tell, your leg is perfectly fine.” Bones leaned down and began unwrapping Demora’s leg. Demora watched as all the names and messages were unravelled and replaced by the bare skin of her leg.

“The bone has fully healed and you should be good to go.” Bones answered after removing all of Demora’s bandages and giving her hand a light squeeze.

Demora smiled brightly and hopped off the bed with an excited, “Thank you Uncle Leo!”

“No problem, Demora!” Bones called. He couldn’t help but smile at the young girl, she reminded him a lot of his own daughter, Joanna. He hadn’t seen her since she was about Demora’s age, which was over 8 years ago. He missed her badly.

 

“Thanks for everything, Doc,” Ben answered, offering an outstretched hand to him. Bones took it, shaking it firmly before letting go. Hikaru picked up Demora from the floor and held her, as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“No problem,” Bones answered, “Just make sure you keep that leg mobile.”

“Okay!” Demora answered cheerfully.

 

When the family returned home 20 minutes later, Hikaru and Demora were exhausted; even though it was only 15:00. Hikaru ended up collapsing on the couch and Demora had climbed up on top of him. They fell asleep instantly and Ben quietly chuckled at their light snoring in the otherwise silent apartment. Ben left the room and came back with a camera; he took a picture of his husband and daughter curled up together. Followed by him taking a quick selfie with his passed out family. He smiled at the pictures before returning the camera to his bedroom.

 

Seeing his family like that reminded him of whenever Hikaru would put Demora to sleep when she was less than 1 year old.

 

\----- _Ben’s P.O.V: Past_ \-----

 

_Hikaru and Ben were awoken by loud, high pitched crying from their 3 month old daughter in the next room._

_Both men let out loud moans and Ben shoved Hikaru, explaining, “You take care of her.”_

_“Why me?” Hikaru asked, sleepily._

_“‘Cause I’m sleeping,” Ben murmured, pulling the blankets over his head._

_Hikaru mentally rolled his eyes, “Uh huh, sure you are.” He spoke, dragging himself out of bed and out of the room._

 

_Ben rolled onto his side, hoping to get at least some sleep before going to work in the morning. Unfortunately, several hours later, Ben was wide awake and hadn’t gotten a bit of sleep. Realizing that Hikaru had never returned, he shuffled off the bed and opened the door to Demora’s room._

_His heart soared from the scene in front of him. Hikaru was passed out of the 20th century rocking chair next to Demora’s crib and in Hikaru’s arms was Demora, fast asleep. The rocking back motion of the chair combined with the lullabies that her dads would sing would always put her to sleep. Ben walked up to his family and took one picture of them with a standard digital camera and another with a Polaroid. He set the cameras down before kissing both of them, Hikaru on cheek and lips, Demora on her forehead and both of her hands._

 

_Ben gently lifted Demora out of Hikaru’s arms, put her back in her crib and wrapped some light blankets over her body. He gave her one last kiss before leaving the room and crawling back to bed. He would have woken Hikaru and dragged him back with him, but this was probably the most Hikaru had slept in over 2 months._

  
_He fell asleep, dreaming about their family and the future adventures they would get into._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had a lot of fun writing this cute little chapter. I've started working on some more tumblr prompts as well as the 30 day Benkaru challenge. I hope you guys will read it once they're finished and I've uploaded them. I hope you liked this little chapter, I hope you'll come back for chapter 7!
> 
> I love all of you guys, thank you so much for reading my stories!!


	7. Cherry Blossoms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, chapter 7, I never thought I'd ever make it this far. I thought this story would be half as long as the first story I wrote, but with the comments and messages I've been getting for this story, has stretched it out to this point. 
> 
> Also, I apologize to the people I asked permission for to use their headcanons, because I thought this would be long over by now and I would have written some of those, if not all of them, by now. So, if any of the people I talked to on tumblr are reading this, I'm sorry I haven't written your stories yet. But I assure you I haven't forgotten about them, they are next on my long list of things to write. I've also been taking breaks from this story to start on some of your headcanons and I will try and get those out as soon as possible. Again, sorry for the long wait, I'm trying to get through them all.
> 
> I love all of you and I hope you'll like this next little chapter!!

\----- _Ben’s P.O.V: Present_ \-----

 

Ben let Hikaru and Demora rest for a few hours before he decided to wake them up. He knelt next to the couch and shook his husband lightly. Hikaru moaned and shifted in his sleep, but did not wake up. Ben shook him again, with more force and Hikaru’s eyes shot open.

“Hey ‘Ru,” Ben purred, cupping Hikaru’s cheek and rubbing it with his thumb.

Hikaru leaned into his touch, “Hey,” He murmured, still half asleep.

Ben moved slightly to kiss his forehead before saying, “I don’t feel like making dinner, do you just want to get take out from that nearby restaurant?”

“You mean Cherry Blossom?” Hikaru asked, sitting up on his elbows.

“Yeah, that one.” Ben answered, “You can get that Andorian Avocado thing you and Dem really like and I’ll get my usual Wild Rice Roll.”

“Mmmm, sounds good,” Hikaru hummed, leaning over to kiss his husband.

 

After they separated, Ben left to call and place their orders. When Ben returned, Hikaru and Demora were wide awake on the couch. Ben sat next Demora who was focused on playing a game on Hikaru’s PADD. Ben leaned over to see what game it was, he didn’t recognize it.

“Hey Dem,” Ben spoke, “What ‘cha playing?” He asked, hovering over her shoulder.

“It’s a world where you can make people and give them jobs and things to do.” She explained, “See! I made our family!” She shoved Hikaru’s PADD into Ben’s hands. Ben took the PADD and sure enough, there were three animated icons at the bottom of the screen. Each one with one of their names hovering over the icons. The first was Hikaru, followed by Ben and lastly, Demora.

“I can make them do all sorts of things.” She said, sitting in Ben’s lap, “I can take them swimming or plant a garden or cook something; but they usually end up setting it on fire.”

“Sounds like Hikaru.” Ben laughed.

“HEY!” Hikaru cried out, offended. He placed his book that he was reading down and answered, “I can cook perfectly fine.”

“With a lot of limitations.” Ben replied.

Hikaru’s eyebrow twitched, “Okay, fine. Cooking’s not my strong suit.” Hikaru answered, “Loving you two is.” He answered, kissing both of them; Demora on her head and cheeks, Ben on his lips and neck.

Ben smiled, giving Hikaru a peck on his nose, “Yes, you are the best at that.”

 

Hikaru turned back to his book that he had his nose in and Demora returned to her game. Ben watched her play for awhile before asking, “You know Dem,” He started, “You’ve got a real family that loves you and care about you. You can do anything in that game and more with your real dads at any time.” Ben answered, kissing Demora’s shoulder.

She giggled, “I know. I just like playing it.”

“Well,” Ben spoke, “Can your virtual Papa do this?” He asked, swinging her over his shoulder and up into the air. Demora was laughing wildly. Ben spun her around in circles before placing her on his shoulders and running around the apartment. Hikaru looked up to see Ben racing past the couch with Demora cheering loudly.

“Faster Papa, faster!” She cried, clutching onto Ben’s head tightly.

“You got it!” Ben answered, increasing his speed to a sprint.

 

Ben ran around the apartment 5 more times before slowly to a stop in the living room. Once he stopped, he lightly tossed Demora up into the air and caught her by her waist. He set her down on the couch and tickled her sides lightly before collapsing onto the ground in a heap.

“I’m tired,” Ben exhaled.

“That was fun, Papa!” Demora giggled.

“Can your virtual parents do that?” Ben asked again, out of breath.

“No, they can’t,” She spoke, climbing off the couch and crawling over to Ben. “But I’m glad my real parents can.”

Ben pulled her towards him and spoke softly, “I love you sweetie.”

She smiled, “I love you too Papa,” She whispered, cuddling up on Ben’s chest.

 

Ben moved tucked a few of Demora’s stray hairs behind her ear. She nuzzled into his chest and almost instantly fell asleep. Ben smiled and kissed her forehead. “I don’t understand how she does that.” Ben spoke softly.

Hikaru smiled, “She is only four,” Hikaru answered, getting up from the couch and sitting next to his family. “She needs her sleep.”

“Do you ever miss being that young?” Ben asked Hikaru, while squeezing one of Demora’s hands.

“Not really, do you?”

“Yeah,” Ben answered, “Being so innocent and oblivious. Without all the stress of being an adult. Being able to go to school for a few hours before coming home to take a nap. Then have dinner and go to bed shortly after that.”

 

Ben kissed a trail of soft kisses from the tips of Demora’s tiny fingers to her elbows. Then from her chin, across her cheeks, up her nose, past her forehead and ending at the top of her head.

“I miss being a kid.” Ben whispered.

Hikaru grabbed Ben’s left hand and brought it to his lips and kissed it.

“Yeah, I do too,” Hikaru responded, “But if we were children, we wouldn’t be able to have children of our own. We wouldn’t be able to be parents. I never want to change that.” Hikaru answered, tears spilling down his face. “I love being a dad,” HIkaru sobbed, cupping Demora’s cheek and kissing her forehead softly.

“Oh ‘Ru,” Ben cried, tears falling from his own eyes, “So do I, I love Dem and I love raising her with you.” Ben reached out and placed a reassuring hand on Hikaru’s arm. He rubbed Hikaru’s arm while whimpering, “There’s nothing I would rather do than raise Dem with you.”

 

Without saying anything, Hikaru moved from his sitting position and lay down next to his husband. He wrapped himself around Ben’s side. Hikaru wept into Ben’s arm, his body quivering, his eyes squeezed shut and tears flowing down, into Ben’s sweater. Ben wrapped an arm around his crying husband and rested his chin on top of Hikaru’s head. Hikaru cried until his eyes were red and dry; he gave a few sniffles before wiping his face of tears.

“I love raising Dem with you too.” He replied, his voice hoarse. “I wish I could be here more often with you and Dem.”

“Hikaru, look at me,” Ben murmured.

Hikaru looked up to meet Ben’s eyes.

“We love you, we both do, how many times do we have to tell you that?” Ben asked desperately, “We love you so much, I love you so much it hurts. But I know you’re doing amazing things for our family; by being out there and improving the Federation and the generations to come. Yes, we miss you, we’ll always miss you when you’re out there. But one day, you’ll come home for the last time and you’ll stay at home with me. That’s when we’ll grow old together, that’s when we’ll rest in our bed all day. That’s when we’ll talk to Dem when she’s on the Federation’s newest starship; and we’ll tell her how proud we are of her and we’ll tell her how much we miss her. Then when she comes home, we’ll welcome her with open arms and cry into her shoulders out of happiness and pure, overwhelming joy.”

“That’s what our future holds.”

 

Hikaru beamed from Ben’s words, he tightly wrapped his arms around Ben. He was careful, making sure that he didn’t wake their sleeping daughter.

“I don’t deserve you, I really don’t.” Hikaru whimpered, “You’re incredible and sweet, you’re so sweet and understanding and I just don’t know how or why you’ve stuck with me through all these years. But I’m so thankful that you have, because I couldn’t do this without you. I love you Ben, I love you so much. You’re the real hero, being here to take care of her.” Hikaru spoke, looking down at Demora. Watching her even breaths and soft face, free of worry and completely innocent.

“You’re her hero.” Ben whispered.

Hikaru smiled, “Well, you’re my hero.”

“I’m my hero too!” Ben replied, laughing.

Hikaru laughed too, giving his husband a quick kiss.

They lay there for a while, still waiting on their food to arrive. It was relatively quiet, until Hikaru spoke, “We should have more children.”

Ben looked over at him, shocked, “Really?” He asked.

Hikaru smiled at the ceiling, “Yeah, I think it would be good for Dem to have a sibling.”

“Well,” Ben hesitated, “That’s a big decision that we need to think about and we need to talk to Dem about this if we’re really considering having another baby.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Hikaru answered.

 

A few minutes went by and there was a knock on the door.

“That’s probably our food.”

“I got it,” Hikaru spoke, letting go of Ben and heading towards the door. Hikaru opened the door and sure enough there was a delivery man at their door. Hikaru accepted the food from the man and paid him before closing the door and setting the food down on the table. Hikaru returned to the living room to see Ben playing with Demora’s hair clips, while she slept. He watched Ben for a moment, he loved his family and he loved spending time with them. He missed them dearly whenever he’d venture out into space. He never got tired of being with them and having fun and joking around with them.

 

He loved everything about them. He loved Dem’s sweet voice and her endless energy, her bright smiles and vibrant laugh. He loved her little quirks; sticking her tongue out when she was focused, her game face when she was determined and how her leg was always bouncing on the floor. Or how her fingers would tap a random rhythm on the coffee table and drive Ben nuts.

He loved Ben’s warmth; the warmth in his voice, in his eyes and his body when he’d cuddle with him under the covers. He loved his passion and heart, how Ben would put all his love into every little thing he did. The flowers he sent Hikaru over the years, with ribbons tied around the pots and the little hand written notes and letters Hikaru got whenever Ben was feeling lonely. Or the endless gifts Hikaru had received while in space, to remind him of home and his family. Hikaru loved the recordings Ben made with Demora of Hikaru’s favourite songs. Hikaru would always play them before bed when he was on the Enterprise to feel like he was at home.

They were his family and they never failed to bring a smile to his face.

 

Hikaru walked towards his husband and sat next to him. He grabbed his hand and held it in his lap. Ben ran his thumb along Hikaru’s hand, his face in deep concentration.

“Maybe this time we can adopt?” Ben asked, turning his head towards Hikaru.

Hikaru was shocked, “Is Ben already thinking about having another child?” Hikaru asked himself. “I thought he’d spend a couple days thinking it through before talking to me about it more.”

“That sounds nice,” Hikaru smiled.

Ben was quiet before continuing, “I really want to have more children, Hikaru. And raising them with you, makes me even more excited about the idea.”

Hikaru kissed Ben’s cheek, “You know, we can wait. We don’t have to make this decision now.”

Ben smiled, “I know,” He answered, “But we should think about it together and then when we’re ready, we’ll ask Dem if she wants to be a sister.”

 

Hikaru gave Ben’s hand a squeeze, “That’s sounds like a plan,” He spoke, “Now, let’s eat before our food gets cold.”

“Okay,” Ben replied, “Let’s wake Sleeping Beauty then.”

Hikaru rolled his eyes, “Oh please, if anyone’s Sleeping Beauty, it’s you. You would die if you didn’t get your 10 to 12 hours of sleep everyday.”

“Oh, fuck off,” Ben muttered quietly.

 

“Dem! Hey Dem,” Hikaru spoke, shaking Demora lightly.

Demora stirred in her sleep, mumbling something.

“Dem, sweetie, wake up.” Ben added, “Dinner’s ready.”

“What’s for dinner?” She asked sleepily.

“Cherry Blossom’s,” Hikaru replied.

“Ooooo,” Demora answered, “I love Cherry Blossom’s,” She yawned.

 

She crawled off of Ben and stood up on shaky feet; she wobbled sleepily towards the dining room and pulled herself into a chair. She rested her arms on the table as Hikaru sat down next to her. Ben walked into the kitchen and returned with 3 plates, utensils and cups. He left one more time and called from the kitchen, “What do you guys want to drink?”

“I’ll have a water,” Hikaru spoke, grabbing his cup and filling it from the sink. Before sitting back down at the table.

“Dem, what do you want?” Ben asked.

“Can I get some juice?” She asked back.

Ben returned from the kitchen with a carton of milk, “Sorry, we’re out of juice,” He answered, pouring her a glass of milk, “You’re getting milk.” She frowned slightly, but took a drink from her milk anyways.

“You’ll need to drink your milk if you want to join Starfleet, become their next best pilot and carry on the Helmsman Sulu Family Tradition.” Hikaru spoke, in response to Demora’s scowl. Demora’s eyes went wide and she picked up her cup and drank half of her milk in one shot.

“Hikaru, don’t torment our daughter,” Ben warned, wiping the milk moustache from Demora’s upper lip.

“It’s okay Papa,” Demora answered, “I’ll drink my milk and I’ll carry on the Helmsman Sulu Tradition!” She spoke, filled with pride. Ben resisted rolling his eyes as he served the food out to their plates. “I think in order for something to be classified as a tradition, it has to last at least 2 times. So far there’s only been one Helmsman in our family.”

Hikaru gestured frantically at Demora, “Yeah, and you’re looking at the next one.”

“Yeah, Papa! I’m the next Helmsman!”

“You bet you are!” Hikaru beamed, squeezing her hand.

Ben smiled, “I’m just teasing, sweetie,” He whispered, kissing her lightly, “I know you’re the Federation’s next best pilot and that you will proudly carry on the Helmsman Sulu Family Tradition.”

 

Ben sat down once they were all served and could begin eating. Ben never had felt so hungry, he filled his plate 3 times and practically licked it clean each time.

“Ben, save some for the rest of us,” Hikaru teased.

“‘m hungry,” He mumbled through his last mouthful.

Demora giggled, “Papa’s being silly!”

Ben swallowed, “I’m being silly?” He asked.

Demora nodded.

“Well at least I don’t have a-” Ben cut himself off as he pulled a carrot out from behind her ear, “Carrot behind my ear.” He finished, showing Demora the carrot he made appear from behind ear.

Demora let out a gasp, “How did you do that?” She asked, stunned.

“I’ll never tell,” Ben smirked, turning back to his empty plate.

 

After Hikaru and Demora had finished eating, Ben had cleared the table and washed all the dishes as Hikaru dried and stacked them in the cupboard. Hikaru and Ben sat down on the couch, on either side of Demora and let Demora choose a movie to watch.

“Oh, this one!” Demora shrieked, “You’ll love this one, Daddy! It’s about space travelers in the 26th century.” Demora pulled both of her dads close as the film began. She missed watching movies with both of them and she wasn’t ready to give it up yet.

 

She was going to make this moment last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? If you didn't figure it out, Demora's line about "space travelers in the 26th century" is supposed to a reference to Star Trek and if they had or watched Star Trek in the future. Which is quite possible, because Star Trek is our future and they would be influenced by what we create and the choices we make. So Star Trek could live into their timeline...possibly.
> 
> Also, I really like the idea of Demora becoming a sister. I feel like she, and Ben, might get lonely from time to time when Hikaru's out in space. So if she had a sibling, she would feel less lonely and would have someone else to bond with. Plus, I think it'd be really cute to see young Demora getting excited over becoming a older sister and have someone to run around and play with other than her friends. 
> 
> Feel free to disagree with me and offer suggestions or ideas about this story. Or if you have any thoughts on Hikaru and Ben's potential second child, please let me know. 
> 
> I hope you liked it and will continue reading, thanks guys!!!


	8. Hikaru's Morning Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru spends a the morning by himself after he dropped Demora off at school and Ben's left for work. So, some cute Hikaru shenanigans takes place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter has a lot of cute little flashbacks and shows what Hikaru does on shore leave when his family isn't around. I hope you will all enjoy it!!

Demora loved mornings, she absolutely adored them. She found the silence in the apartment mysterious yet calming. She enjoyed how the sound of her bare feet on the wood floors would echo throughout the room. She would often stare out the glass door to the balcony and admire the city surrounding their apartment. But most of all, she could do whatever she wanted to do in the mornings, because her dads would be too exhausted to stop her. Hikaru would usually sleep in as late as he could without being late and Ben would be half asleep until he had his third cup of coffee.

So Demora figured out very quickly that she could get away with a lot of things before her parents were fully awake. This included eating half a dozen cookies at 4 in the morning, watching holo videos before school and practicing fencing with Hikaru’s old katana. Except Hikaru was almost thrown out the airlock for leaving his swords out in the open, where his 3 year old daughter could get it.

 

\----- _Demora’s P.O.V: Past_ \-----

 

_“Dem?” Ben asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes._

_“Papa!” She screamed, dropping the sword she had been fencing with. Ben’s eyes shot open and dove for the sword, catching it by the handle before it could impale his daughter’s feet. Demora flinched and shrank into her chest. “Demora?” Ben asked, concerned, “Where did you find this? And why are you using it?”_

_“F-ound it...closet,” She muttered, feeling scared and upset._

_Ben sighed and rubbed his temples. “Why did you think it was a good idea to play with at-” Ben stopped, checking his watch, “5:00 in the morning?”_

_“Wanted t-to p-practice,” She spoke quietly, tears falling down her face._

_“Oh sweetie,” Ben cooed, putting the sword in its sheath before picking up his daughter. “I’m not mad at you.”_

_She sniffed, “You’re not?” She asked._

_“No,” He answered, moving her hair behind her ear, “But I will need to have a talk with your father and tell him not to keep his sword collection in the closet.” Ben mumbled to himself. “And I hope you know how dangerous these are. You can use them when you’re older and are a more experienced fencer, okay?”_

_“Okay.” She answered, wiping the remaining tears from her face._

 

_\-----Ben’s POV: 10 Minutes Later-----_

 

_“Hikaru!” Ben scolded once the video call was connected, “You left your swords in the closet where Demora could reach them!”_

_“I did?” He asked, “Oh sorry about that,” He spoke avoiding looking Ben in the eye._

_Ben scoffed, “You better be! She was using one this morning like they were her toys!”_

_“Well, I did teach her the basics, but she has a lot more to learn.”_

_“You did WHAT?” Ben shouted._

_“I taught her fencing. What’s wrong with that?” Hikaru asked, looking up at Ben._

_Ben rubbed his temples, “Tell me you at least used something that was appropriate for a toddler.”_

_“Uhhh,” Hikaru spoke, scratching his head._

_Ben slammed his head down on his desk. “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Ben muttered._

 

_He sighed heavily before lifting his head from the desk, “A little warning would have been nice or you could have told me that you were teaching her fencing and not doing it behind my back.”_

_“Sorry,” Hikaru let out, “I could get her something safer.”_

_“Like what?” Ben asked._

_“I could send over some plastic swords for her to practice with.”_

_Ben tilted his head to the side, “Well...that’s not a bad idea.”_

 

_“So are we good?” Hikaru asked, looking very guilty._

_“Yeah, we’re good,” Ben answered, “Is there anything else you’ve taught Dem that I should know about?” Ben joked but his face fell when he saw Hikaru tense up._

 

_Hikaru mumbled something and Ben just barely made it out._

_“You let Kirk teach her how to use a phaser?”_

 

\----- _Demora’s P.O.V: Present_ \-----

 

Which is why Demora was currently eating the last apple pie slice, which she found in the back of the freezer, for breakfast. She was halfway through her pie when Ben walked into the living room, holding a cup of coffee and looking very tired. Ben was so tired that it took him several moments to realize Demora was sitting in her favourite lounge chair, across from him, on the couch.

“Oh, hey Dem,” He yawned.

“Morning, Papa!” She said, cheerfully.

Ben took a sip of his coffee and checked his PADD for any new messages, completely oblivious to his daughter eating pie for breakfast. Later that day, when he got home after work, he asked himself, “I’m sure I had one more piece of pie left. Maybe I’ve just been out in space for too long.”

 

 

After Ben left for work and Hikaru had dropped Demora off at school, Hikaru was excited to have some time to himself. He planned to spend most of the day, sleeping and spending time in the family garden. Then, if he had some extra time on his hands, he would fence with the swords he left behind. He entered his bedroom and laid down on top of the covers. The tossed and turned several times on the bed before deciding he needed some music. He slid off the bed and grabbed his PADD from his desk and opened his music playlist. He set it to shuffle and placed it on top of Ben’s pillow.

He curled up on his side as the first song began.

“Oooo, this one,” He thought to himself, “I love this one.”

He listened to the soft piano, as the vocals started.

 

_“One teaspoon of howlin' at the moon_

_Two cups full of morning gloom,”_

“Wait a minute,” Hikaru thought, “Is that-” He cut himself off as he listened more intently to the song.

 

_“A pinch of thought_

_My heart is wracked and rot.”_

“Yes, it’s Ben and Dem,” He concluded, “They must’ve sent me this song and I just never heard it until now.” He felt his heart soar as the song continued.

 

_“Gently blend, you wish that you had not_

_Oh you wish that you had not_

_you wish that you had not.”_

Hikaru felt overwhelmed with joy. He could hear the emotion and love that Ben and Demora had put into this song; he loved every word they sung, every lyric that flowed out of his PADD and into his ears. He smiled as pulled the PADD towards his chest and closed his eyes.

 

_“Colorbloods, that's what we were_

_Sparkling ones, that's what we were.”_

Hikaru surely had to thank Ben and Demora for this wonderful gift when they came home later. He felt a single tear roll down his face and fall off his chin into the crevice in his neck.

 

_“A half a pound of fever-lovin' bound_

_A single ounce of wiltin' in the ground_

_Salt from tears for heartache through your years_

_Mix and stir, you wish you would not fear_

_Oh you wish you would not fear_

_you wish you would not fear.”_

Hikaru couldn’t have been more proud and thankful for having his beautiful family. He loved them and always thought about them when he was in space. It always made him happy when they sent little gifts to him while he was on the Enterprise. Their gifts never failed to cheer him up when he felt lonely or homesick and he loved them so much, it hurt his heart.

 

_“Colorbloods, that's what we were_

_Sparkling ones, that's what we were,”_

Hikaru finally fell asleep as his family sung the final lyrics.

 

_“Colorbloods we were_

_Oh yeah, colorbloods we were.”_

 

 

Hikaru woke up with a start, several hours later, to a particularly loud song that was playing on his PADD. He struggled to stop the playlist and set the PADD back down on the bed. He lay there for a minute before running his hands along his face and rolling off the bed to take a well needed shower. He turned on the water and stepped inside. He missed traditional water showers which weren’t offered on the Enterprise; how the feeling of hot water running down your back would send shivers up your spine.

 

Hikaru loved the mornings with Ben when they would shower together, nothing sexual, just the exchange of soft kisses through the spray of water.

_“G’ Morning,” Ben greeted sleepily as Hikaru entered the shower._

_“Good morning Ben,” Hikaru repeated, wrapping his arms around his husband’s waist. He made a trail of small kisses from Ben’s shoulder, up his neck and back down again._

_“I love you,” Hikaru murmured into Ben’s shoulder._

_“I love you too, Ru,” Ben echoed, turning around to peck Hikaru on the lips._

 

Or the moments in the Academy, when they were just starting to fall in love with each other. When they would laugh as they washed their partners hair or lathered soap up the other’s back in those hard to reach areas.

_“Hikaru, stay still!” Ben giggled, as he tried to rinse the shampoo out of his boyfriend’s hair._

_“Make me!” Hikaru joked, avoiding Ben’s outstretched arms._

_“You’re going to get soap in your eyes if you don’t stop moving.” Ben argued, grabbing Hikaru by the shoulders._

_“But then I would rely on you to get me around,” Hikaru replied, standing on his toes to kiss Ben. “I would need you to get me to my seminars and you would have to take my flight exams.”_

_“Phffft,” Ben let out, laughing as Hikaru spiked Ben’s hair into a mohawk, “As if that would ever happen.”_

_“You don’t want to fly a starship?” Hikaru asked._

 

_Ben smiled at Hikaru, “I already know what it feels like to fly.”_

_“You do?”_

_“Everyday that I’m with you, I feel like I’m flying.”_

_“I’m in love with this man,” Hikaru thought to himself, cuddling into Ben’s chest, “It’s official, I love him.”_

_Hikaru smiled against Ben’s skin as he and Ben shared the same thought, “I love him.”_

 

Hikaru smiled at the past memories that flowed into his head. He turned off the water after he finished rinsing out his hair. He dried himself with the towel he set out on the counter and changed into a pair of denim pants and one of Ben’s collared shirts. He checked the time on his PADD as he walked into the living room. It was already 11:00, he would have to leave to pick up Demora from school in an hour. He decided to check the herbs on the balcony before he went down to the courtyard to practice his fencing. He watered the plants and put several in the shade to prevent them from getting too much light.

For the sake of time, he didn’t put on his fencing gear. He grabbed his épée, he didn’t want to scare his neighbors with his katana again and walked down the stairs to the courtyard. He began a few basic stretches before settling down into the standard fencing starting position. He lunged and attacked at the air around him, moving elegantly and swiftly.

Hikaru found it odd, listening to the rustle of tree leaves instead of the hum of the Enterprise engines. Nevertheless, he continued to move around the courtyard with ease; alternating between defensive positions and offensive attacks. Ben would often tell him, it reminded him of dancing. The way Hikaru moved so easily and softly with each movement and motion of his sword. How Hikaru made it look so easy to master, but Ben would frequently fall down and injure himself whenever he would fence with Hikaru.

 

Hikaru completely lost track of time as he, in Ben’s words, danced around the trees and tables. As his feet moved in harmony and his arms swung at the air with restrained power. He was startled out of his dance when he heard a cry of, “DAAADDY!”

 

\----- _Ben’s P.O.V: 3 minutes ago_ \-----

 

_Ben walked into the apartment after he unlocked the door and Demora had ran inside. He was a little bit concerned because Hikaru had not answered the message he sent him on his PADD. He texted Hikaru that he got an additional hour for lunch, due to the lack of work for their lab. Not only that, but he was allowed to leave 30 minutes before his usual lunch break. Which allowed him to eat his lunch, pick up Demora from school and still have 1 ½ hours before he had to go back to work._

 

_Ben walked around the apartment, hoping to find Hikaru lying on the couch sleeping; unfortunately Hikaru was nowhere to be found. Ben noticed something glowing out of the corner of his eye, he turned towards it and realized it was Hikaru’s PADD. Ben was fairly certain his heart exploded when he saw Hikaru’s contact name for him._

 

_Message from:_

_Ben Sulu_

 

_ Ben’s heart soared, usually he would say that emojis were clichéd and lame but this was different. He couldn’t help but smile at the little hearts and the two men holding hands and the 2 parents with a child. He stared at the notification for several more seconds before taking a picture of it with his own PADD. He then sent a copy of the picture to Hikaru with the caption, “Awwww, I always knew you were a big sap!”  _

_ Ben set his PADD down as Demora bounded over to him and shrieked, “Papa, PAPA, I found Daddy!” Ben followed her as she skipped onto the balcony and pointed out into the courtyard. “Look!” She exclaimed, “There he is!” _

_ Ben followed her finger and his eyes landed on a figure moving around the courtyard with a foil. _

_ “No, wait,” Ben thought to himself, “That’s not a foil, it’s a...an épée.” Ben watched the figure weave around the plants and in between the trees. “Yeah, that’s Hikaru, it can’t possibly be anyone else.”  _

_ Ben watched him for a while before he noticed something was off about him. “Wait! Is he wearing my shirt?” He asked himself, “Yeah, yeah he is! Why that son of a b-” _

_ Ben was cut off when Demora screamed out a loud, “DAAADDY!” _

_ Ben forgot why he was mad as soon as he saw Hikaru turn towards him and smile brightly. “I can never stay mad at him.” _

\----- _ Hikaru’s P.O.V: Present _ \-----

Hikaru looked up and sure enough, there was Demora, standing on their balcony three floors up from him. She was waving at him, with her eyes shut and a bright smile. Hikaru waved back to her, a smile forming on his own lips. Behind her, stood Ben, grinning happily.

He called out, “Looking good Hikaru!”

Hikaru blushed lightly, “Thanks!” He answered, “Why are you home already?” He shouted.

“I got my lunch break early and thought I should pick up Dem. I sent you a message about that, did you not get it?” Ben shouted back.

“My PADD’s upstairs, so no, I didn’t get it.”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Get up here before I have to go back to work.” Ben called, waving Hikaru over.

__  
  


“I love them, I love them so much.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of chapter 8, I hope you guys enjoyed it!! I love all of you and I hope that you'll all join me for the next chapter!
> 
> The song that Ben and Demora sing is "Colourbloods" by Brooke Waggoner. It's a good song, feel free to check it out.
> 
> ♡


	9. The Broken Ashes and the Fire's Waves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru and Demora have a fun day together and Ben comes home upset and frustrated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts off super sweet, but then shit hits the fan.
> 
> I'm so sorry.

Hikaru had never ran so fast in his life, he almost tripped multiple times while running up to the third floor. He practically broke the door open; and upon seeing his husband, he tackled him to the floor. The two men laughed as they disentangled themselves from each other.

“Hey sweetie,” Hikaru spoke, kissing Ben on the lips.

“Ru, you scared the shit outta me,” Ben mumbled into Hikaru’s neck.

Hikaru laughed, “Sorry, I just missed you.”

Ben chuckled back, “Yeah, I could tell,” He answered, kissing Hikaru’s neck lightly.

 

“Daddy!” Demora shouted, running over to Hikaru once he detached himself from Ben.

“Hey sweetie,” He cooed, kneeling down to let her crash into his arms. He laughed as she buried herself into his chest and nuzzled against his arms.

“How was school?” He asked, kissing her head.

“Since I got the most questions right during Ms. Ruettez’s presentation, I got to spend the whole day playing in the sand box and finger painting!” She spoke animatedly.

“Really?” Hikaru replied, giving her another kiss, “That’s great Dem, what was the presentation on?”

“Dewisons in Starfleet!” She answered proudly.

Hikaru chuckled, “Oh course you got those questions right, I expect no less from a fellow Federation officer.”

Demora giggled as she wiggled out of Hikaru’s arms and left to fill in one of her colouring books.

 

Hikaru got up from the floor and joined Ben who was now sitting at the dining room table. “How long until you have to leave again?” Hikaru asked.

Ben pushed several buttons on his PADD before answering, “I should probably leave in an hour or so.”

Hikaru nodded as he unlocked his PADD.

“Ben?” Hikaru asked.

“Yeah?” Ben replied, his eyes glued to his PADD.

“I’m a big sap?” Hikaru questioned as he looked up from picture his husband sent him and stared at the man in question.

“Oh yeah,” Ben answered, still concentrating on his own PADD, “You’re a big sap, but so am I, so we’re a perfect match. I almost cried from looking at my contact name on your PADD.” Ben finished, resting his head on his hands and looking at Hikaru with starry eyes.

Hikaru felt like his body had been lit on fire, he shifted his eyes to the floor as he felt his cheeks burn like embers.

“So,” Ben continued, dragging Hikaru’s attention back to him, “I changed your name on my PADD, so it was a little more personal.” Ben reached over and picked up his discarded PADD. He scrolled through several screens before handing it over to Hikaru.

 

The screen read, “Space Blossom,” Hikaru rolled his eyes. “Really?” He asked, looking back at Ben.

“What? You don’t like it?” Ben asked, taking his PADD back.

“I think it’s fantastic, but I was hoping you’d come up with something better.”

“I’m pretty proud of that and going by the red tint in your face, either you’re embarrassed by it or you’ve been drinking regularly again.”

Hikaru grabbed one of Ben’s hands as he spoke, “You know I don’t drink anymore.”

Ben sighed, “I know, I was only teasing.”

 

Hikaru got up from his chair, leaned over and kissed his husband, “I love you Ben,” He murmured into his neck.

“I love you too, Hikaru,” Ben replied, giving Hikaru a kiss.

  


“Okay, I’m leaving,” Ben hollered, while standing by the front door. Hikaru jogged towards him, carrying Demora.

“Goodbye, sweetie,” Hikaru spoke, pecking Ben’s cheek softly.

“Bye, Papa!” Demora added, latching herself onto Ben. Ben chuckled softly, but responded, “Dem, baby, you have to let me go,” He ran his hand through her hair and gave her two kisses on each of her cheeks.

“But I don’t want to!” She argued. If she was on the ground, that would have been followed by an angry pout and a stomp of her feet.

“Hikaru, could you...” Ben trailed off, gesturing at Demora with his head. Hikaru nodded and pried their daughter off of Ben and into his own arms.

Ben straightened out his lab coat before uttering a quick, “Bye guys, I’ll see you later, before dinner!”

Hikaru just barely got out a, “Bye Ben,” before his husband opened the door and shut it behind him.

  
\----- _30 minutes Later_ \-----

“Oooo, look at that one!” Demora shrieked pointing to a large bubble she made that was floating away from their balcony.  

“Oh yeah?” Hikaru spoke, smirking, “What about this one?” Hikaru asked as he took one of the bubble wands and dunked it into the soapy bubble mix. He held up the wand, in front of his face and blew. Demora laughed loudly as the smallest bubble Hikaru had ever seen flew out in front of Hikaru’s face and popped a few seconds later.

“Oh, what was that?” Hikaru giggled, “That was supposed to be impressive! But that had to be the lamest bubble I’ve ever seen.”

“Mine was much better!” Demora declared, smiling from ear to ear.

“Yeah, no kidding. I got cheated on mine, that just wasn’t fair.”

 

“Should we do one together?” Demora asked.

“Sure, why not.” Hikaru answered.

“The first to pop loses!”

“You’re on!” Hikaru challenged.  

The two of them plunged their bubble wands into the large bubble mixture and held them up. They looked at each other before Hikaru announced, “Ready…and…”

“Now!” He yelled, they each blew their own bubbles and watched as they floated out into Yorktown.

“No!” Demora let out when her bubble popped before Hikaru’s.

“Again?” Hikaru asked.

 

Demora smiled and put on her game face, “I’ll beat you this time, Daddy!”

“I’ll let you call it this time,” Hikaru spoke.

“Okay. Ready?” Demora began.

 

“3…2…1!”

 

“That was fun, Daddy!” Demora laughed from her countertop seat. She was swinging her legs off the edge of the counter while Hikaru cleaned the dishes from the bubble mixture they had made.

“Yeah it was a lot of fun,” Hikaru answered, dipping his hand into the soapy water and blowing several bubbles towards his daughter. Demora cheered as she popped them with her fingers.

“I still don’t understand how your bubbles were so much bigger than mine.” Hikaru complained playfully, “Were you cheating? Do you have a bubble machine stuffed up your sleeves?” Hikaru questioned, tickling his daughter’s arms, sending her into a fit of uncontrollable giggles.

“No...I-I d-don’t!” She choked out through her giggles.

Hikaru looked quizzically at her. “You sure about that?” Hikaru asked, “How can I be certain you’re telling the truth?”

Demora, still laughing wildly, squeaked out a, “P-please, I-I can’t take it anymore.”

 

Hikaru stopped and gave Demora a kiss on her nose. “I love you Dem,” He spoke, squeezing one of her hands.

She giggled before crawling into her dad’s arms, “I love you too,” She murmured into his chest.

  
\----- _Several Hours Later_ \-----

“I’m home!” Ben hollered, into the hallway. Hikaru peered around from the kitchen and his face lit up before approaching his husband and embracing him tightly. When they separated, Hikaru asked, “How was work?”

“It was terrible,” Ben groaned, taking off his shoes and throwing them into the closet. “My boss wanted me to re-catalogue all the new specimens, the ones that we received a few weeks ago, because one of our new interns lost the data and tried to categorize them on his own. But he wasn’t familiar with our categorization methods and categorized all of them incorrectly. So I have to do it again.”

 

Hikaru had a look of sympathy on his face, “Oh, I’m sorry, that m-”

Ben cut him off with a, “Oh that’s not even the worst of it.” He opened the fridge and pouring himself a glass of water. He downed half the glass before continuing. “Then, when I was about halfway through the re-cataloguing, one of my coworkers, Neleeso, bursts into my lab and practically throws himself at me.”

Ben flopped down into one of the dining room chairs and finished off his glass. Hikaru, carrying the water jug, topped off Ben’s glass before sitting down. “He was babbling on about how something had gone horribly wrong in his lab. So me, being a good person, told him I would check it out…” Ben paused while he took a sip of his water, “First big mistake, never should have done that. Anyway, I went down to his lab and I guess I missed the important part in Neleeso’s rambling where he said that one his plants had become irradiated and infected all the other plants in his lab. Which basically turned the his lab into a radioactive chamber.”

 

Hikaru’s eyes went wide as he muttered an, “Oh shit!”

“Yeah, so that was my second big mistake. I should’ve listened and gone to get my boss, but no, I had to investigate it all by myself.” Ben sighed, as he rubbed his temples. “So then-”

“Wait! There’s more?” Hikaru asked, looking equally terrified as concerned.

“Oh yeah, we haven’t even gotten to the bad stuff yet.”

 

“So then, I didn’t realize that plants were radioactive when I opened the door, until Neleeso screamed at me that everything in there was irradiated and I had just let out all the radiation into the entire facility. Which is bullshit because he could have stopped me long before I got to that point. Anyways, the radiation was at a high enough level that Starfleet had to come in and decontaminate the whole building and everyone inside. Which killed off every last plant and seedling in the building.”

Ben drank the rest of his water, but kept a firm grip on the glass. Hikaru almost thought that Ben was going break the glass from clutching onto it so tightly. “And after everything was decontaminated,” Ben forced out through his clenched teeth, “My boss found out that Neleeso was responsible for the radiation leak. He pulled me and Neleeso to the side and fired us both for the loss of everything.”

“What?” Hikaru almost shouted, jumping to his feet. But stopped when he realized Demora was just out on the balcony reading and would be able to hear him. “That’s bullshit!” He complained, collapsing into his chair.

Ben scoffed, “Yeah, apparently, Neleeso didn’t want to be the only one responsible for everything so he tried to turn everything on me when my boss confronted him. My boss eventually got tired of arguing and fired the both of us.”

 

“Oh, Ben,” Hikaru spoke softly, wrapping his arms around his husband. “I’m so sorry…” Ben leaned heavily into Hikaru’s embrace. He cried into Hikaru’s chest, soaking his shirt with tears. “What am I going to do Hikaru?” Ben sobbed, “I’m out of a job and no one will hire me if they see ‘Irradiation Contamination of Starfleet Botany Facility on my file.”

“Ben, you’re being irrational; I’m sure someone will hire you when they see your qualifications and I could send in a recommendation letter. That would increase your chances of getting in.” Hikaru answered.

Ben sighed, “Look, I know you’re trying to help. But you don’t understand what this feels like, being blamed for something you couldn’t have prevented. Something that wasn’t your fault that you tried to fix anyway, because you’re just that kind of person.” Ben got up from his chair and walked past Hikaru to the bedroom. Hikaru opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when he realized Ben was right.

 

Hikaru suddenly had an idea, he went outside and whispered into Demora’s ear. She listened until he was finished and took off at full force towards the bedroom. “PAPA!” She called.

A mound of blankets shuffled in response.

Demora jumped up onto the bed and launched herself onto the blanket mound. Ben groaned from under the blankets. “Papa, Daddy tells me you’re upset. Don’t be sad, be happy.”

Ben freed his head from the blanket pile, “Dem, I love you sweetie, but it doesn’t work that way all the time.”

Dem pouted, “But all you have to do is turn that frown…” She paused, sticking two fingers into Ben’s cheeks and lifting them up, “Upside down!”

Ben couldn’t help but genuinely smile at his daughter. Just seeing her enthusiasm and energy almost made him forget why he was hiding under a blanket pile in the first place.

 

“Come on Papa!” She cheered, “Let's go make some flower crowns!”

  
\----- _2 hours Later_ \-----

After dinner was over and their stomachs had settled, the small family all sat out on the balcony.

“Dem, why don’t you tell your father about the art project you did last month.”

“Ooooo,” Demora shrieked, jumping into Hikaru’s lap. “Guess what we did in art, Daddy!”

“What did you do in art?” He asked.

“Daddy,” She wailed, “You have to guess!”

Hikaru chuckled, “Did you...have paint wars with your classmates?”

“Daddy, that’s silly,” She giggled.

“Hikaru,” Ben scolded, “Don’t implant that idea into our daughter’s head.”

 

Hikaru shrugged him off and focused on Demora. “Well, if you’re not doing that then what are you doing in art?”

“Ms. Ruettez gave us paint and told us to make something that makes us happy, so I chose the Enterprise and Yorktown. Because Daddy lives on the Enterprise and he makes me happy and Papa and me and sometimes Daddy live on Yorktown and Papa makes me happy. And Ms. Ruettez gave us a...uh...”

“Canvas,” Ben interjected.

“A can..vus,” Demora repeated slowly, “And I got to paint the Enterprise and Yorktown!”

 

Hikaru’s face lit up as he pulled Demora into a hug, “That’s great Dem! Can I see it?”

“No.”

Hikaru was confused, “No? Why not?” He asked.

Demora looked over to Ben as if asking whether or not to answer his question. Ben nodded, “Tell him Dem.”

Demora turned back to Hikaru before answering, “Ms. Ruettez liked my painting so much that she entered me in a Yorktown youth art show.”

“Really?” Hikaru asked, “That’s amazing Dem, I’m so proud of you.”

“That’s not all,” Ben replied.

“It’s not?”

“Nope.” Ben answered.

“I won 1st place and I get to take a trip on a Yorktown Cruiser!” She screamed into his ear.

“Wow, that’s awesome Dem. Are you excited?”

“Yeah!”

“Back in the Academy, before I was allowed to fly starships, we started off with small Federation Cruisers. And let me tell you, I never got tired of flying those things into space.”

Demora’s eyes went wide, “Really?” She asked in disbelief.

Hikaru smiled, “You’re gonna love it!”

 

They talked for hours about everything and nothing, until the simulated Yorktown sky started to become transparent, allowing for the stars to shine through into the starbase. Ben got up from his chair and lifted Demora into his arms, “Alright Dem, time for bed.”

She didn’t even protest as Ben lay her down in her bed and tucked her in; she was asleep before she could even ask for a story or a song.

 

When Ben returned to the balcony, Hikaru was still sitting on his chair. Ben sat down again and they sat in silence for a long time before Ben spoke up. “You know, she’s at the top of her class.”

“Really?” Hikaru asked.

“Yeah, just like you.” Ben finished.

 

They talked about Demora for an hour until Ben eventually asked, “Are you wearing my shirt?”

Hikaru looked down at the shirt he was wearing, he fiddled with the collar as he answered, “Uh, yeah. I hope that’s okay.”

Ben rolled his eyes, “Yeah it’s fine,” he muttered.

“Really?”

“No, take it off,” Ben joked, laughing quietly.

Hikaru shrugged, “Okay, if you say so,” Hikaru teased, unbuttoning the second and third buttons on the shirt. Ben leaned over and did up the third button. “Oh, keep your shirt on, I’m not that desperate to get in your pants.”

Hikaru glanced over at Ben, “You sure about that, you seem awfully quiet all the sudden.”

 

Hikaru was surprised when Ben suddenly got up and left, but he was even more surprised when he returned wearing Hikaru’s Command Gold uniform. Hikaru gulped, “Oh no, he didn’t just do that. Did he?”

“Hmmm,” Ben hummed, “You seem awfully quiet, Lieutenant?” Ben smirked, “Are you cold? Would you like your shirt back?”

“You son of a-mmph,” Hikaru was cut off as Ben kissed his lips. “I love you so much,” Ben murmured over Hikaru’s lips. Hikaru smiled, “I love you too,” He whispered, kissing Ben again.

 

“This is it, you have to ask him again,” Hikaru thought to himself.

“Hey, Ben?” Hikaru asked, nervously. He got up and leaned against the railing, avoiding Ben’s face.

“Yeah?” He answered, staring out at the stars.

“Umm, about the, uh...” Hikaru struggled to find his voice, “I really think we should have more children.”

Ben sighed. “Hikaru,” He warned.

“What? What’s so wrong about having kids? I thought you wanted more kids, I thought that’s what we wanted.” Hikaru huffed, getting upset.

“I do, but after today, I’m not so sure.”

 

Hikaru scoffed, “What do you mean? You said you wanted kids.”

“Hikaru, I just got fired. Today’s not the day to be talking about this yet.”

“Yeah, but with my salary, you could be a stay at home dad and take care of our kids.”

Now it was Ben’s turn to scoff, “Oh yeah?” He challenged, “While you’re out there risking your life everyday and I sit here on my unemployed ass, worrying over whether you’ll come home or not?”

“Ben I-”

“You know how hard that is for me as it is. Nevermind now that I don’t have a job and you expect me to sit and do nothing, while I care for our children and you spend half your life away from them.” Ben shouted and Hikaru flinched towards the wall. Ben never yelled, it just wasn’t something he did. Hikaru had never witnessed Ben get angry and now that he was, he wished he never brought this up.

“Not only that,” Ben continued, getting louder and louder, “What if something ever happened to you? Do you expect me to pick up the pieces? To tell our children what happened to their dad? Why he’s never going to walk through that door again and why they’ll never see you again? Do you expect me to pick up the pieces of our broken family? To get a job and raise two children on my own? Way out in the middle of space, because of some man that’s now dead? Is that what you expect of me?” Ben screamed.

 

Hikaru was terrified, “Ben, you’ll wake Dem,” He sniffed.

“Oh, let her listen, she deserves to know this. And what do you care anyways? You haven’t seen her for over 3 years, just after her 1st birthday. Why should you care? You barely see her!”

“Don’t you dare!” Hikaru seethed, “You know this hasn’t been easy on me. You think I like that I can’t just see my family at the end of the day? That I can’t spend the nights curled up with you or that I can’t send Dem off to school like normal parents do? I’d do anything to stay here with you guys!”

“So why don’t you?” Ben yelled, closing the distance between him and Hikaru. “You could stay, you could stay right now. But you don’t, you never fucking stay Hikaru. You always leave us, you always leave to your other family. We’re never good enough for you! You always leave us and you’ll continue to do the same if we have another child. Isn’t one fucking enough Hikaru? Can’t you see how much Dem misses you? How hard it is for her to watch you leave? Do you really want to do that to another innocent child? They don’t deserve that Hikaru! They need to be loved, but you’re never around to show them that. If it wasn’t for the album you left behind, she never would have known who you are.”

 

Hikaru was in tears, “That’s not true, you know that’s not true.”

“Hikaru, I can’t keep playing this game with you! I need an answer. You can have more kids but you have to stay here, or you leave and you leave for good.”

“What?” Hikaru sobbed, “You can’t be serious.”

“It’s your choice Hikaru.” Ben spoke. Hikaru searched his eyes for any source of hope, any sign of forgiveness. He found none.

“I-I-I’m s-sorry,” He cried as he pushed past Ben and ran out of the apartment.

Ben barely registered the door slam shut. He collapsed onto the ground in a heap. “What have I done?” He thought to himself, tears streaming down his face as he wailed into the ground.

  
He curled in on himself as his shivering body fell asleep on the cold, concrete floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry, for this chapter. I promise you it does get better, I wouldn't leave this family in pieces, I'm not that cruel. I felt like this story was a little flat, because it was fluff on top of fluff on top of fluff. So it needed some contrast. But going by the reviews and comments I've gotten from this story, maybe I'm the only one that thought it was flat.
> 
> Do you guys like the fluff on top of fluff? If you do than I can keep doing that, but you gotta let me know, otherwise I won't know what you want. 
> 
> So let me know what you thought. Is there anything you'd like me to add? To remove? Any suggestions? Please let me know and I'll get started on that. 
> 
> Thanks everyone, you're all incredible and I love all of you!!


	10. Splintered Crying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru gets some helpful advice from Nyota.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things start to get better and maybe all can be forgotten and forgiven. 
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading this story. I love reading your comments and seeing the kudos and hits increase. This story would have ended 5 chapters ago if it wasn't for you guys. I have no idea how long this story will be and I can't stop writing this adorable family. I love all of you so much and I hope you keep reading this long story!!!

It was dark outside of the apartment complex. Several nearby lights were burnt out as Hikaru walked under them. His tears rolled off his face and rained down on the ground; he found no use in trying to hide his pain, so he left them fall. His feet carried him throughout Yorktown, he kept his eyes down as he walked through the empty streets. He barely noticed when he sat down at a pub on the other side of Yorktown.

He flopped limply on top of the bar, his tears making a puddle on the counter. He almost didn’t hear the bartender ask him, “What can I get you?”

“Something to drown my sorrows in...” Hikaru blubbered.

The bartender nodded and quickly made him a drink. He pushed it towards Hikaru with a, “It’s on the house,” He patted Hikaru’s back lightly before uttering, “I hope you feel better.”

 

Hikaru looked up at the drink, debating whether he should have it or not. He hadn’t drank since Kirk’s party and he promised Ben he wouldn’t do it again. But nevertheless, he felt himself reaching for the glass. He downed it in one go and flagged down the bartender for another one. His heart felt heavy in his chest, partially from betraying Ben by drinking; but mostly from his and Ben’s falling out. He looked down at his drink in disappointment.

“I’ve destroyed my family.” He thought to himself. “I never should have brought it up, I should’ve waited. Or I could’ve stopped.” Shakily, he propped himself up, his face resting in his palms and his elbows forced into the counter. “Why didn’t I fucking stop? We’d be so much better off if I just left it alone.”

Hikaru nursed his drink as a thought struck him. “Oh god, what does this mean for Dem?” He wailed into his hands, his tears running down his arms and onto the bar.

 

“I hope she’s going to be okay.”

 

\----- _Demora’s POV: 25 minutes ago_ \-----

 

_Demora woke up with a start, she could hear voices in the apartment somewhere, but didn’t know where they were coming from. The voices seemed to be arguing, one sounded like they were about to cry, the other sounded furious. Demora was terrified, she sat up on her bed with the blankets wrapped around her. She couldn’t hear everything they were saying, only bits and pieces. It didn’t take her long to realize that it was her parents who were fighting._

_“I thought that’s what we wanted.” An annoyed voice spoke. “That sounds like Daddy,” She thought to herself, tightening her grip on the blankets. She heard Ben answer but couldn’t make it out._

 

_“What do you mean? You said you wanted kids.” Hikaru argued._

_“Hikaru, I...got fired. Today’s not...talking about this...”_

_“What?” She whispered into her room, “Papa doesn’t want kids? Does he not want me?” She asked, her lip quivering. She couldn’t hear what Hikaru said next, she could faintly hear a voice through the wall. But it couldn’t interpret it._

_“Oh yeah?” She flinched at the volume in her Papa’s voice. Even though the wall, she could tell he was angry. She hunched into herself, trying to herself as small as possible. “Papa never gets angry,” She mumbled into her not so quiet room._

 

_“...out there risking your life...while I...worrying over whether you’ll come home...?”_

_Demora could feel tears in her eyes, “Why are they fighting?” She asked herself, her body trembling. She continued to shiver while Ben continued, getting louder with every word he spoke._

 

_“You know how hard that is for me...expect me to...nothing...I care for our children...you spend...your life away from them. What if something ever happened...you expect me to pick up the pieces? To tell our children what happened...never going to walk through that door again and why they’ll never see you again? Do you expect me to pick up the pieces of our broken family?...out in the middle of space, because of some man that’s now dead? Is that what you expect of me?”_

_Demora couldn’t believe what she was hearing, she didn’t want to. These were her parents, they loved each other, they couldn’t be fighting. “No, no, no,” She cried, into her covers. “We’re not broken, we love each other, right?” She asked, trying to reassure herself. But as she listened to her their screaming match, she began to lose hope._

_“And what do you care anyways? You haven’t seen her for over 3 years.”_

_“Don’t you dare! This hasn’t been easy on me. I’d do anything to stay here with you guys!”_

_“So why don’t you? You could stay, you could stay right now. But you don’t, you never fucking stay Hikaru. You always leave us, you always leave to your other family. We’re never good enough for you! They don’t deserve that Hikaru! They need to be loved, but you’re never around to show them that. If it wasn’t for the album you left behind, she never would have known who you are.”_

_Demora covered her ears, trying to block out as much of the yelling as she could. She tried to ignore the voices outside, but they just wouldn’t stop._

_“Please,” She pleaded, “Please stop, please...”_

 

_Eventually, the yelling stopped but the voices still continued. Demora almost thought that maybe they had forgiven each other, but that’s when she heard it. Footsteps, quick, fast footsteps, followed by a door slamming shut. She recognized that sound, the sound that could only belong to the heavy front door; the one that shook the whole apartment every time it was closed._

_One of her dads had just left._

 

_“We are broken.” She sobbed, falling onto the bed._

 

\----- _Hikaru’s POV: Present_ \-----

 

“Oh Dem,” Hikaru murmured, “I’m so sorry, I’m a terrible father, I-I’ve ruined everything for you. I broke our family apart. You’ll probably never want to see me again after this.”

 

“I’m so sorry...” He sobbed into his sleeves, which smelt like dirt and flowers, “Ben,” He thought, his heart ached in his chest. “Oh, Ben,” He forgot he was still wearing his shirt, Ben would probably never want it back after the events of today. Just as he thought he couldn’t feel any worse, he was interrupted by a quiet, “Hikaru?” He turned around as Nyota sat in the chair next to him, her body rotated towards Hikaru. She had been sitting at a table with some old Academy friends when she looked up and saw Hikaru bent over the bar’s counter. She could hear his sobs from her friend’s table; she excused herself and approached her depressed friend.

“Hey,” She spoke softly, “What’s wrong?”

Hikaru sighed. “Nothing,” He mumbled, staring down at the counter.

“Oh please, I’m expert xenolinguist and you think you can fool me with that?” She scoffed, “It wouldn’t even take a xenolinguist to figure out that you’re depressed.” She reached over and squeezed Hikaru’s hand. “So come on, spill. What’s got you so upset?”

 

Hikaru took a deep breath and wiped his soiled face before stuttering out, “Ben and I, we...well, we had a...we’re...”

“I can’t do this, I can’t say it.” He thought to himself.

“You had a what?” Nyota asked, her face concerned and worried.

“We...had a bit of a...falling out,” He answered, his words broken and hoarse.

Nyota’s face instantly fell, she wasn’t expecting anything like this. “What do you mean you had a falling out? You guys love each other and you have an incredible daughter. How could something like this possibly happen?” She asked in disbelief.

 

Hikaru turned back to his drink and picked it up, “Yeah, well I pretty sure that after this, Ben hates me and our family is destroyed because of me.”

Nyota rubbed his arms with her hands and spoke kindly, “I’m sure that’s not true. There’s got to be a-”

“No, there doesn’t Ny!” Hikaru snapped, cutting her off, “Some problems don’t have solutions and there’s nothing we can do about that!” He finished, gulping down half of his remaining drink.

Nyota looked at him quizzically, “Hikaru?” She asked.

Hikaru grunted, as the bartender gave him another drink.

“Are those...non-alcoholic?” Her voice strained.

“Nope,” He replied, raising the glass to his lips.

“But didn’t you tell Ben you were going to stop drinking?”

“Yeah, but what does that matter now?” Hikaru chuckled, half heartedly. He was about to finish off his drink when Nyota dove in front of Hikaru and grabbed the glass from his hand.

 

Hikaru was shocked to say the least, but he wasn’t expecting Nyota to throw his cup on the ground, shattering into a thousand pieces. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him out of the bar and dragged him away to a small park. She pushed on his shoulders until he sat down on the grass beside her.

“First,” She began, her voice venomous, “Don’t you ever let me catch you drinking again or I will knock you out and drag you back home. Where Ben will cry once he finds out you were drinking.” Hikaru looked down at the ground, feeling extremely guilty. It was bad enough Ben was upset with him already, he didn’t want him to know he’d been drinking. But he knew he couldn’t hide it from him, he had to honest with Ben.

“And second, cut the bullshit Hikaru!” She shouted, “I’m your friend, not your enemy, I’m trying to help you. So gather yourself and stop running away from your problems,” She held his hands in her own and waited before speaking again. “Let me help you.”

 

Hikaru knew she was right, he looked over at a group of wildflowers in the distance. “Okay, I’ll tell you what happened. It all started yesterday when I told Ben that I wanted another child.”

Hikaru proceeded to pour his heart out to Nyota, he told her how they weren’t sure if they should have another kid and that Demora would be included in the final decision. After that, he hold her about their fight on the balcony; how he yelled at Ben for not wanting more kids and how Ben told him that Hikaru had chose between Ben and Demora and the Enterprise.               

 

Nyota was silent, Hikaru was in pain and there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Ben must be hurting too. She obviously didn’t want any harm to befall on their family. She took a deep breath before speaking. “Hikaru?” She asked.

“Yeah?” He answered weakly.

“I know I don’t know Ben as well as you do. But I’ve seen how you act and behave when you’re together. It’s clear as day that you two love each other.” Nyota stopped momentarily to pull Hikaru into her arms, “I can’t imagine that Ben would ever make you choose between your job and them.”

“Yeah I know, I know. But I’ve known Ben for 8 years and never have I seen him get angry. Never, about anything. His friends and parents always tease him, saying things like, “You’re too nice,” He’d always laugh it off and blush a little.” Hikaru broke out of Nyota’s embrace and finished, “Eight years, I never saw him get mad and now that I have seen it, I know I made a huge mistake. Ben always has a softness to him, he is such a kind and caring person and I destroyed him. Before I ran, I looked into his eyes; his usual soft, kind eyes. All I saw was an empty void and rage, pure overwhelming rage.”

 

“Hey, look at me,” Nyota spoke. Slowly Hikaru raised his eyes to Nyota’s and she could see the guilt in his own eyes, the pain from the mistake he made, the hurt he brought on his family. “If that’s true, then shouldn’t you go to him? To calm him down and apologize?” She put a hand on his shoulder before continuing.

“This is Ben we’re talking about, soft and caring Ben that would never hurt a fly. The one who apologized for stepping on a family of ants of the way to the botany labs?” Hikaru laughed, he was there with him when that happened. He never forgot the way Ben’s voice cracked when he realized what he’d done.

 

_“Oh no! What have I done?” Ben spoke out loud as he kneeled down next to the crushed ant family._

_“Ben, relax, it’s just some ants. I’m sure it happens to them all the time.” Hikaru half joked._

_“That doesn’t make it any better!” Ben choked out, grabbing a leaf from the grass and gently laying it down over the deceased ants._

_Ben stood up with a, “I’m sorry for your loss.”_

_Hikaru rolled his eyes as he dragged Ben away, but he was warmed by Ben’s infinite heart and love towards everything._

 

_“I love this man.”_

 

Hikaru wiped the last few tears from his face as he stood up on unsteady feet. He took a deep breath before speaking, “Thank you, Nyota, I know what I have to do now.”

“I sure hope so,” She answered, getting up from the ground and giving the man a tight hug. “If anything goes wrong or you need some help, give me a call.” She let go of Hikaru, “Okay?”

“Okay.”

 

Despite his talk with Nyota, Hikaru couldn’t bring himself to go home yet. He waited on a bench outside Sunny Waterfall Café; it wasn’t very big but he and Ben would always go there when they were out for the day with Demora. They always ordered the same drinks every time they went there. Ben would always order a Vulcan Green Tea, Hikaru a traditional Chinese White Tea and Demora a Mint Chocolate Cocoa. There was one point that the manager joked about adding their orders to the combos list and calling it, ‘The Sulu Family Special’. Although the staff never made it official, whenever the family walked into Sunny’s, they hollered, “One Sulu Family Special!”

Hikaru sat on that bench for hours until he shuffled off of the bench and found the closet transporter. He entered in the coordinates of their apartment complex. He was beamed just outside the front doors of the building. He slowly walked up the stairs and down the third floor hallway. He stopped outside their door, his eyes scanned over the engraving the the middle of the door, “The Sulu’s.” His eyes teared up again, he took one final breath as he unlocked the door and walked inside.

 

He had never felt so uncomfortable in their apartment. He walked towards the bedroom hoping to find Ben under the covers. “You can do this,” He thought as he pushed the door open, just a crack. His heart fell, Ben wasn’t there. He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands.

“He’s gone, he’s left me.”

Panicking, he got up and ran into Demora’s room and his heart broke in half. Demora’s bed was empty, her bed sheets were thrown on the floor and she was gone. He fell to the floor, sobbing loudly.

“He’s gone and he took Dem with him.”

 

Deciding he needed some air, he got up and headed to the balcony. What he didn’t expect to see was his husband curled up and shivering on the floor by himself. He turned around and grabbed the blanket from the couch and carried it onto the balcony. He lay down next to Ben and threw the blanket over them. He curled himself into his husband’s side, hoping that when he woke up, Ben would forgive him and their family could be whole again.

“I’m so sorry Ben, I never meant for any of this to happen.” He whispered into his husband’s chest. Ben hummed in his sleep, leaning into his husband embrace.

 

“Maybe all can be forgotten.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See! I promised things would start to get better. I love badass Nyota who doesn't put up with any bullshit and isn't afraid to set someone straight. Which is why she was able to get Hikaru to return to Ben and talk about their disagreements in a better light. The next chapter, things get even better and the Sulu family becomes whole again. 
> 
> I love all of you, thank you so much for reading this story!!!


	11. How to Repair Several Broken Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru and Ben go looking for Demora when they realize that she's gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter when everything starts to get better. I couldn't leave this family upset and in pieces, I couldn't do that and you all would hate me if I let them fall apart. This chapter should answer any questions about Hikaru and Ben's fight and what happened with Demora.

Ben woke up with a sharp twinge of pain in his back. He groaned as he sat up, rubbing at his sore back. When he opened his eyes, he realized he was on the balcony with a blanket draped over him. “Why am I on the balcony?” He asked himself. “And where did this blanket come from?” He was startled when the balcony door opened; his eyes trailed over and landed on a figure standing in the doorway.

“Hikaru,” He spoke softly; and just like that, the events of last night rushed into his head. Of their fight, the yelling, the crying, the desperation and the anger. “Oh god,” He muttered, rubbing his face with his hands. He stared at Hikaru for a while, “Could he ever forgive me?” He thought as Hikaru slowly and cautiously walked towards him and sat down in front of him.

“Hey,” Hikaru answered, his voice broken. Ben leaned forward and cupped Hikaru’s jaw lightly, tracing his thumb along his cheek. “Well, he did come back. Maybe he can forgive me for what I’ve done. Maybe all can be forgotten.”

 

“You...uh...looked cold, so I, uh...gave you a blanket...and I slept with you.” Hikaru mumbled, feeling extremely awkward.

“Oh, thanks,” Ben mumbled back, his heart heavy in his chest. He moved his hand from Hikaru’s cheek to the blanket covering his lap.

Hikaru sighed before speaking, “Look Ben, I-” He was cut off as Ben launched himself at Hikaru, their lips crashing together. Ben whined into the kiss as he choked back a sob. Hikaru wrapped his arms around Ben, tears falling down his face. Ben hesitantly reached out his hands and rested them on Hikaru’s waist. Hikaru moaned at the touch as he felt Ben’s body quiver against his own.

 

When the two separated, both were out of breath and a little bit happier. “Ben,” Hikaru spoke, crying at his own words, “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t thinking about what you were going through. I was so wrapped up in the idea of having more kids that I forgot about the beautiful family I already have.” Hikaru buried his face into his husband’s neck as he whimpered, “I am so sorry, can you ever forgive me?”

Ben almost laughed, “You’re sorry? I’m the one that yelled at you, I’m the one that got mad, I’m the one that said you had to choose between your two families. I’m the one that made you leave.” Ben looked into Hikaru’s eyes as he rambled on. His eyes begging for forgiveness.

 

“I’m the one at fault here. I should be the one apologizing. Hikaru, please, you have to know that I didn’t mean any of what I said yesterday, I was overwhelmed by all that was going on and I took it out on you and I am so sorry.” Ben closed the small gap between them and placed a soft, hesitant kiss on Hikaru’s lips. “I’m so sorry,” He murmured against his lips.

“We’re both idiots aren’t we?” Hikaru asked.

Ben chuckled, “Yeah. But we’re idiots that love each other and we only have each other’s best interests at heart...usually.”

Hikaru smiled as he shed the last of his tears, “Are we okay?”

Ben moved his hands from Hikaru’s hips to his cheeks as he answered, “Yeah, we’re going to be fine.”They shared one more kiss, a long, sweet, intimate kiss. One that would wash away all the pain and suffering, that would soothe the heartaches from yesterday. They held each other close as they let go of their mistakes and guilt and forgave themselves and each other.

Things finally seemed to be looking up.

 

They stayed wrapped in each other’s arms for a long time, to Hikaru, it felt like an eternity. Being back in husband’s arms made him so incredibly happy. It was as if the previous night had never even happened. He finally felt at ease again. It was several minutes later that Ben spoke up. “I don’t know about you, but I think we could both use some quality family time with our daughter.”

Hikaru smiled, “Yeah, that sounds nice.” He replied as they stood up and entered the apartment. “By the way, where did you take her?” Hikaru asked while following Ben through the living room. Ben stopped and slowly turned around before answering, “What do you mean?”

“Did you take her to the Sh'rhaohroks? Because of our fight?”

Ben looked confused, “I didn’t take her anywhere.”

 

Hikaru eyes shot open, panic written all over his face. “You didn’t?” He asked, terrified.

“Hikaru?” Ben asked cautiously, “What’s going on?”

Hikaru didn’t listen, “Surely I have to be wrong. I’m mistaken, right?” He asked himself.

“I went into Dem’s room earlier and she wasn’t there.” Hikaru spoke aloud. Without missing a beat, Ben turned and bolted for Demora’s room. If Ben had been going any faster, he would have broken the door down. He turned the handle quickly and jogged inside.

Ben’s heart fell. He couldn’t believe it.

 

An empty bed.

 

“No. No, no, no, NO, NO.” Ben screamed, collapsing into the floor. Hikaru ran up to him and held his husband tightly. He rubbed Ben’s sides and back as Ben sobbed into the floor. A few silent tears rolled down Hikaru’s face and fell onto Ben’s back.

“Dem, Dem why?” Ben pleaded, reaching out and grabbing fistfulls of her bedsheets in his hands.

“Did we do this?” Hikaru asked, his voice hoarse. Ben moved out of Hikaru’s embrace and turned to face his husband.

“No, I did this.” Ben answered, looking down at the floor.

“Ben, what are you talking about?”

“You heard me last night Hikaru. I was screaming so loud all of Yorktown probably heard me. No wonder she’s gone.” Ben looked up at Hikaru, his eyes sad and guilty. Hikaru reached out and held his hands. “She’s scared and terrified. If she heard me then she probably thinks our family is falling apart.”

“I’m so sorry,” Hikaru began, squeezing Ben’s hands lightly, “I should have mentioned this sooner. I just thought you took her away, away from the stress and pain we were going through.”

 

They sat there for a few minutes before Ben spoke up, “We have to find her.” Hikaru stood up and pulled Ben to his feet, “Let’s try the Sh'rhaohroks. Maybe they know where she is or have any ideas?” Hikaru suggested.

Ben nodded, “Okay, that sounds good.”

 

They were just about to leave their apartment when Ben thought of something. “Wait!” Hikaru, who was standing in the outside hallway, froze. “Grab your communicator, I’ll get the PADDs.” He ordered, disappearing into the apartment, “Just in case Dem calls or someone sees her.”

“Yeah, good idea.” Hikaru answered, running to grab his communicator that was sitting on the dining table, “And leave the apartment unlocked, in case she comes back and we’re not here.”

 

When Ben returned with their PADDs, the two took off at light speed towards their neighbors door. Hikaru, who got there first, pounded on the door loudly. The only thing the men could hear was their own heavy breathing and a light shuffling from inside the apartment.

The door opened suddenly and Mr. Sh'rhaohrok was standing there. “Ah, Mr. Sulu and Mr. Sulu,” He greeted, “What can I do for you at this early hour?”

“Have you...seen...Demora?” Ben panted.

“No, I haven’t. Is something wrong?” He asked.

Hikaru and Ben shared a look. “Yeah, she’s missing. We don’t know where she is or where she’s gone.” Hikaru answered.

“Oh my,” He answered, “Well, we’ll keep an eye out for her and let you know if we see her.”

“Okay, thank you!” Ben answered as he and Hikaru took off down the hallway.

 

“Any ideas?” Ben asked, while running down the stairs.

“Uh, the park, perhaps?” Hikaru suggested.

“I doubt that she spent the whole night there by herself.”

“Do you have any other suggestions?” Hikaru asked.

Ben thought quickly, coming up short her answered, “No.”

“Park it is then,” Hikaru answered, pushing open the front door of their building and running for the park with Ben beside him.

 

They searched through the entire park twice, both crying out, “Dem!” And, “Demora!” They split up during their second search, thinking it would be better and faster. They ran into each other 10 minutes later.

“Anything?” Hikaru asked, desperate.

“Yeah, and you’re not going to like it.” Ben answered, holding up one of Demora’s headbands; the yellow one he bought for her because it matched his uniform.

Hikaru’s eyes widened in fear. “Is it-do you know for sure that it’s hers?” He asked, hoping that it wasn’t Demora’s.

Ben turned the headband inside out and written in the headband was a sewn, “Demora Sulu,” written with thread. “I started doing that because she kept losing them and I figured they could be returned to her if she had her name in them.” Ben answered.

 

Hikaru’s heart, is possible, sunk further in his chest. He took the headband from Ben and held it in his hands. “Oh Dem,” he thought, “Where are you?”

“Come on, we have to keep moving!” Ben answered, pulling Hikaru with him. “Let’s try Sunny’s, maybe she’s there?”

 

Three hours later, Hikaru and Ben had lost almost all hope. They checked everywhere they knew, every place that they ever took Demora, anywhere she might have heard of or been to. They checked it all.

“Ben, what do we do now?” Hikaru asked, his head in his hands.

“I don’t know,” Ben sighed, “I’m a terrible father...I didn’t...even realize…that she was...gone.”

Hikaru opened his mouth to argue, but he didn’t have the energy anymore. Instead he took the headband out of his jacket and held it in his hands. His fingers smoothed over the fabric, over the coloured elastic, the elevated seams and her stitched name.

“I miss her,” Hikaru murmured, tears falling down onto the headband. Ben leaned over and rested his head on Hikaru’s shoulder. He reached his hands out and held onto the headband with Hikaru. Together, they felt their hearts break in unison. Neither one of them paying attention to the wandering, sympathetic eyes of onlookers.

Ben nuzzled into Hikaru’s shoulder as he whispered, “I miss her too.”

 

They stayed there, stuck, unable to move or think. To exhausted to do anything else but think about what they had done and the repercussions it had on Demora. They were about to give up and head back to their apartment when Hikaru’s communicator went off. Immediately, Hikaru answered it, “Hello?” He asked quickly.

“Oh Hikaru, fucking finally,” Bones spoke, “Jim and I have been trying to contact you for ages but my communicator was fried and we had to get Scotty to come and fix it.”

“You’re welcome laddies,” Scotty shouted from the background.

“Anyways, we’ve been trying to call you for hours,” Bones began, “We have something...er, someone you might want back.”

 

Hikaru’s face lit up and his eyes started to water, “What?” He asked, because he needed to hear it again.

“We have her, you might want to come and get her.” Bones answered.

“You do? Oh thank god,” Hikaru exhaled, “We’re coming, we’ll be right there.” He answered as he stood up from the bench.

“Make sure you tell her how much you love her...because she’s worried about you two and no child should have to go through that.”

“We will, we absolutely will, you can count on that.”

“See you soon, Hikaru.”

 

Hikaru closed his communicator and pulled a very worried and confused Ben to his feet. “Bones and the others have her,” Hikaru explained, dragging Ben into a sprint.

“How come they didn’t contact us sooner?” Ben asked.

“Bones's comm broke and they had to get Scotty to fix it.” Hikaru shouted as they ran for Bones’s apartment building. Once they entered the main doors of the apartment complex, they took an elevator to the 85th floor. They waited and watched as the lift counted the floors.

 

5...9...13...17

 

“Will she talk to us?” Ben asked.

“I hope so...”

 

21...26...32...39

 

“What will she say to us?” Hikaru breathed.

“I’m not sure.”

 

43...51...60

 

“Will she forgive us?” Ben murmured into the empty elevator.

“I don’t know...”

 

64...74...85

 

The men watched as the lift doors opened. They walked out on stiff, mechanical legs until they reached Bones’s apartment door. Hikaru was just about to buzz the apartment to inform Jim and Bones that they were outside the door.

“I’m scared...” Ben murmured into the carpet.

Hikaru’s hand froze above the intercom; he turned towards Ben and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Hey,” He said, reassuringly, “It will be okay, it’s going to work out. We found her, she’s safe.”

Ben took a deep breath before speaking, “You’re right...it’s going to be fine.”

 

Hikaru kissed Ben’s cheek lightly before activating the intercom. There was a brief silence before Bones answered, “Get in here you idiots, the door’s not even locked.” Ben and Hikaru shared a confused look before taking half a step forward; the door swooshed open and the men stepped inside.

 

They stood awkwardly by the door until Bones walked over from his lounge chair. He stopped a foot away from the two men and looked each of them in the eyes before speaking. “Are you two okay?” His face genuinely concerned.

Hikaru turned to Ben as Ben grabbed his hand and interlocked their fingers. Ben smiled lightly when Hikaru slumped against his side.

“Yeah, we’re fine.” Ben answered.

Bones sighed, “Good, otherwise I would’ve given you both Andorian Shingles.”

The two men chuckled before Hikaru asked, “Where is she?” His voice wavering.

“She’s just in there,” Bones replied, pointing to a closed door at the end of the hallway. Wordlessly, the two men moved together, down the hallway and stopped just short of the door. Hikaru looked up at Ben and noticed the broken look he had on his face. He squeezed Ben’s hand, as if to tell him that everything would be okay. They each took a deep breath as Hikaru slowly opened the door.

 

Relief flooded into them when they saw Demora fast asleep on the large queen sized bed that was pressed up to a window overlooking Yorktown. Hikaru slowly and cautiously approached the bed with Ben trailing behind him. They climbed up onto it and lay down on either side of the sleeping girl. Hikaru looked over at Ben and mouthed, “You ready?”

Ben nodded.

“Hey, Dem,” Hikaru spoke softly, gently shaking her. She whimpered in her sleep, her face contorting slightly.

“Dem, sweetheart,” Ben cooed, kissing her face lightly.

Hikaru had felt overwhelming joy when he saw Demora finally crack her eyes open. She squinted at her surroundings and noticed her dads were beside her.

“DADDY! PAPA!” She screeched, wrapping her arms around Hikaru and burying her head in his chest. Hikaru wrapped his arms around his daughter as he motioned for Ben to do the same.

“Oh Dem, baby,” Hikaru breathed, running his hands though Demora’s hair.

Hikaru loses track of how many kisses he and Ben give their little girl throughout their embrace. Ben kisses her head, the strands of her hair, while Hikaru kisses her cheeks, her nose, forehead and her hands. They stay wrapped in each other’s arms for longer than they probably should, but none of them are willing to let go. Not yet.

 

Demora is the one that ends up breaking the silence, but does not move out of her parents embrace. “Daddy? Papa? What happened yesterday?” Hikaru and Ben knew this was coming. They both knew it would be easier and better if they told Demora now instead of waiting until later.

“You were...fighting...and...y-yelling.” She sobbed, her breaths coming out in ragged gasps. There were tears falling from her face and into Hikaru’s shirt. “It was s-scary...and you said w-we...are b-broken and that...you don’t want...kids.”

 

\----- _Demora’s POV: Past_ \-----

 

_Demora waited in the silent apartment, listening. For another set of footsteps to follow the first set, for the front door to open, for anything._

_But there was nothing._

 

_Demora had enough of the silence, she couldn’t take it anymore and she didn’t want watch her family break apart. So quietly, she slid out from under her covers and padded over to the door; stopping to grab her favourite headband, the yellow one that matched her dad’s uniform. She opened the door slowly, wincing as it let out a long squeak. She froze, when she heard no signs of anyone coming, she slid through the partially opened door and shut it behind her._

 

_She tiptoed over to the closet and took out her favourite pair of shoes; the white ones that Ben bought her before school started. She slid them onto her feet and quietly opened the front door and shut it behind her. Once she was out of the apartment she ran, down the hallway, to the elevator and out the main doors. She didn’t stop running until she tripped over her feet in the middle of a small park. Her headband went flying as she skidded to a halt. She let out a shriek as she skinned her knees and bruised her elbows on the stone path. Her eyes watered as she examined her knees; they were purple and blue, bruised and bleeding down her legs._

 

_“I wish Daddy and Papa were here,” She thought to herself as she weakly got to her knees and limped over to a nearby tree, leaving her headband in the dust. She collapsed against it and folded her legs up against her chest. She cried into her knees, flinching in pain when her tears rolled over her swollen knees._

 

_\-----Bones’s P.O.V-----_

 

_“God dammit Jim, I’m telling you that’s the most absurd, ridiculous and dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. There’s no way you drove your stepfather's car off a ravine in Iowa.”_

_“I did and man, was he ever pissed.”_

_Bones scoffed, “Yeah right. You may be dumb, but you’re not-” Bones froze, “Is that...Demora?” He asked himself._

_“Hey, what wrong?” Jim asked._

_“Shut up for a damn minute.” Bones shouted. He extended his arm and pointed out to a small figure sitting under an apple tree.“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Bones started, “But is that Demora?”_

_Jim followed his extended arm until his eyes landed on the person huddled under the apple tree._

_“Uh, yeah, I think so,” Jim replied._

 

_Without wasting any time, Bones jogged over to the young girl._

_“Demora?” He asked, a few feet away from the girl._

 

_\-----Demora’s P.O.V-----_

 

_Demora recognized that voice, slightly rough but with a lot of emotion behind it._

_“Uncle Bones,” She thought, raising her head from wet knees._

 

_Bones felt his heart drop, not only was this Demora, but clearly something was wrong. “What is she doing out here, late at night, alone?” He asked himself, “Her eyes are red and watery, her nose is running, her hair is tangled and messy and her knees and elbows are bruised and bleeding. Well, this cannot be good.” Bones told himself once he finished analyzing Demora’s condition._

_“Hey sweetie,” He cooed, kneeling down next to her, “What are you doing out here by yourself?”_

_She gave several violent sniffles before collapsing into Bones's lap.“Oh shit,” He thought, looking over to Jim who looked heart broken. Bones wrapped his arms around the girl and held her tightly. “Not good, this is not fucking good.”_

_“Where are your dads?” Jim asked and immediately regretted it when he saw Demora flinch into Bones chest and cry into shirt. Jim knelt down next to her and Bones and rubbed her back as he spoke, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you upset. You know, I find in these situations, if I talk about what happened to someone, it makes me feel better.”_

_Demora looked up from Bones’s chest. “Really?” She sniffed._

_Jim nodded._

 

_Demora took a shaky breath. “Daddy and Papa were fighting and yelling and Daddy said Papa didn’t want kids and that our family is broken and then one of them left. I don’t know who it was and I’m scared because I don’t want my family to break and they’re all I have but now I don’t even have them...”_

_Bones and Jim looked at each other in shock. They were prepared for the worst, but they never thought something like this would happen._

_“Oh Demora,” Bones soothed,“Are you okay now?” Bones asked, his voice lowered._

_Demora nodded moving away from his chest and sitting on the grass._

_“Well, we should probably get you home.” Jim answered._

_“No!” She shouted, curling in on herself, “I don’t want to go back…”_

_Bones thought for a minute before suggesting, “Why don’t you come back to my apartment?”_

_She looked up at the man before answering with a broken, “Okay.”_

_Bones mumbled a, “Good, because I wanted to scan you to check your status and repair those knees and elbows of yours.” To himself. Bones held his arms open and Demora climbed into them._

 

_They entered the lift and waited for the long travel up to the 85th floor. “Eighty-fucking-five floors up?” Bones would frequently ask himself. “I’m a doctor, I could have a patient dying that I need to help and you put me on the 85th floor? I’d like to meet the dumbass that came up with that bullshit.” But nonetheless, they had made it up to Bones’s apartment and were steps away from the door, when Demora shouted, “Wait, my headband! Where’s my headband?” She frantically patted down her hair, but could not find it._

_“Did you lose it?” Bones asked, sympathetic._

_“Oh no I can’t lose it.” She answered, “It matched Daddy’s uniform. He got it for me...and now it’s gone.”_

_“Don’t worry,” Jim reassured, “I’m sure it will turn up eventually.”_

 

_After Bones had fixed Demora's injuries, him and Jim were able to convince her that she should sleep; because it was very late and she should already be sleeping. She looked a little ridiculous when they tucked her into Bones’s queen sized bed, which was gigantic in comparison to the small 4 year old. Demora looked up from the warm covers she was wrapped in. Bones and Jim smiled at her and just before they left the room, she asked, “Could you sing to me?”_

_Bones turned around and looked shocked, “I left my singing career behind me when I joined Starfleet,” Bones joked, “But, I’ll make an exception for you.”_

_Demora lit up as Bones muttered into Jim’s ear, “You mention this to anyone and I’ll register you for daily medical checkups, with weekly vaccinations.”_

 

_“Alright, have you ever heard of “Doctor Doctor Give Me the News”, Demora?” Bones asked, sitting down next to her before starting his chosen song._

_“No,” She answered._

_“Then you’re missing out!” He answered._

 

_Demora fell asleep just as Bones finished the song._

 

\----- _Present_ \-----

 

“Oh shit,” Hikaru thought, looking up at Ben and going by the depressed look on his face, he was thinking the exact same thing.

“Oh, sweetie,” Hikaru soothed, rubbing Demora’s sides softly, “That’s not true, it’s not true. Yeah, we were yelling but the rest I promise you, is not true.” He paused for a moment to wipe the tears from Demora’s face and give her a kiss on each cheek. “Papa and I love each other very much and we love you even more. And we’ll always love you Dem; we always will, no matter what. We’re not broken, we’re still in love and our family is whole. There’s nothing that will keep us away from you Dem, we love you, we always will. Please know that we’ll always love you, no matter what happens.”

 

Demora wiped the last few tears from her eyes and asked, “Really?”

“Of course, we love you sweetie,” Ben cooed from behind her.

“But you said you didn’t want kids. So you don’t want me?”

Hikaru and Ben shared another look. In order to soothe Demora from this, would involve mentioning that they were thinking about adding another person to their little family. But Hikaru and Ben hadn’t even decided whether or not they were certain about this or not.

 

“Dem, you misunderstand,” Ben answered calmly, “You see...your father and I were talking about whether we...whether we should have another child in our family.”

“Another child?” Demora asked, confused.

“Yes,” Ben answered, “And that night I was angry from losing my job and I took it out on your father. Which was unfair of me and I ended up saying some things I didn’t mean. One of which was that I didn’t want any more kids. I never meant it as I don’t want kids and I never said I don’t want you. You’re what keeps me grounded when your ridiculous father ventures out into space for some ungodly reason.”

Demora laughed and turned around to hug her Papa; she nuzzled into his neck as Ben whispered soft apologies into her ear.

“We’re so sorry Dem, we never meant for any of this to happen.”

“It’s okay, I understand now,” She replied, gently; leaving her dads to wonder what they possibly did to deserve a daughter this incredible.

 

There was a brief silence as the three hugged and cuddled each other. They would have stayed there for an eternity if Demora hadn’t broken out of their embrace and shouted a, “So does that mean I get to be a sister?”

Hikaru and Ben looked at her in surprise, trying to process what their daughter had just said. But once they managed to turn their brains on again, they laughed, soft and full of emotion; watching as Demora vibrated with excitement.

“Yeah, yeah it does.” Ben spoke, on the verge of tears and it was worth it to see the way their daughter lit up at the idea of becoming a sister.

“But we haven’t even submitted the adoption papers or even decided if that’s what we’re going to do.” Hikaru explained, “So it might take a while before you can officially be a sister; okay?”

Demora beamed, throwing her arms around her dads, “Okay!”

  
Yeah, things were definitely looking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's smooth sailing from here on out. The song Bones mentions, is inspired by [this](https://twitter.com/ParamountUK/status/752868138866319360) video of Karl and John singing "Doctor, Doctor Give Me The News." It's a rock song but I imagine Bones would sing it in a way that would easily put Demora to sleep.
> 
> Thank you and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!!!


	12. A Beginner's Guide To Learning French

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Super fluffy chapter where Hikaru and Ben spend some quality time with Dem to help her with the aftermath of their fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was hoping I could work on this story and my other tumblr prompts at the same time. But, in the time I've written this story, which is well over 40 days, I've only uploaded 2 tumblr prompts. 
> 
> So, I'm sorry to say that I'm going to put this story on hold until I can finish some more of those prompts. This does not mean this story is going to become abandoned, not at all. I've got so many ideas and things I want to add and it's taking up so much of my time that I can't write anything else. So, I am really sorry about this, I want to keep writing this story just as much as you guys want to read it. 
> 
> I'm going to try to spend a week or two finishing off some of the tumblr prompts and then I will resume this story. If you have any questions about this, please let me know on [tumblr](http://gayspacepilots.tumblr.com/) or leave a comment and I will answer you. 
> 
> Again I am sorry for this, I will story to get back to this story as I can, please enjoy this fluffy chapter and remember that this is not the end of this story, it's just the beginning!!!

“Oh Dem,” Hikaru spoke suddenly, “I forgot I still had this.” He reached into pocket and pulled out her headband. Her eyes lit up as she chirped, “You found it!”

Hikaru chuckled as he put her headband on, “Over the head, around the back and up to the forehead. Then push the headband back and move her hair behind her shoulders.” He mumbled to himself. 

“Yeah, your Papa found it.”

“I thought I lost it...gone forever,” She murmured.

“We-er, your Papa found it in the park after you-”

“Ran away,” She supplied, looking sad.

“Hey, sweetie, it’s okay. We’re all fine now.” Ben soothed while Hikaru helped Demora put her headband back on.

“No...not okay.” She mumbled, “...shouldn’t have ran away.”

Ben thought for a minute before suggesting, “Would it make you feel better if we went to Sunny’s?”

Demora smiled at the thought and nodded her head enthusiastically.

 

The family said their goodbyes to Bones and Jim as they left for the café. The barista recognized the family and yelled out, “One Sulu Family Special!” The family laughed as they approached the counter to pay. 

“It’s always a joy to see you guys in here,” The barista and manager, Meenu, if Hikaru was correct.

She quickly made each of their drinks and slid them across the counter. She left and came back with a slice of cake, “Here Demora,” She spoke, handing her the cake, “I think you’ll like it, it’s strawberry.” Demora gasped excitedly and dug into the cake with her hands.

“Dem!” Hikaru laughed, “At least use a fork.”

“How much do we owe you for the cake?” Ben asked.

Meenu shrugged, “It’s on the house.”

“I can’t possibly take that without paying for it.”

“I insist, it’s on the house. You guys take a seat and enjoy your drinks!”

  
  


“So what’s next?” Hikaru asked, “What do we have planned for today.”

“Well, it’s-” Ben glanced at his watch, “Time to pick Dem up from school.”

“But Dem’s right here,” Hikaru answered, squeezing his daughter’s hand.

Ben rolled his eyes, “Hikaru, it’s a weekday, Dem missed school today.”

“Oh,” Hikaru let out, “I forgot about that...oops.”

“Sorry Papa,” Demora replied, feeling guilty. 

Ben chuckled, “Don’t worry about it sweetie, we all need a break from work sometimes.”

  
  
  


Several weeks had went by and the Sulu household could not be under any more stress. Ben was panicking over every job interview he went to, Hikaru was would spend all of his time sorting through all the adoption agencies and orphanages both on Yorktown and other Federation planets. Demora was stressed out from watching her parents panic over major life decisions. She ended up spending most of her time either on the balcony, where it was quiet, or at her friend’s houses. 

“AAAAAHH!” Hikaru shouted, pulling at his hair, “I can’t take it anymore, how are we supposed to narrow down the all these options? By the time I go onto the next pamphlet, I’ve forgotten what was on the previous one.”

Ben, his eyes laser-focused on his PADD, looked up to see his husband surrounded by hundreds of PADDs and leaflets. He pushed himself off the couch and sat down behind Hikaru on the floor. He rubbed Hikaru’s arms as he suggested, “How about you start with the ones closeby?”

Ben moved to examine the large pile of pamphlets, he moved several to the side and tossed several of them into Hikaru’s lap. “So, keep the Yorktown ones,” Ben spoke, adding five more PADDs to Hikaru’s lap pile. “These ones...those...and maybe this one.”

 

Ben sat back and admired his handiwork; more than half of the pamphlets were thrown to the side, leaving Hikaru with six PADDs and 2 paper printouts.

“Start with that,” Ben spoke, getting up from the floor and heading back to his own discarded PADD. 

“Wow,” Hikaru let out, “That’s amazing, you just saved me-er...us so much time.”

Ben chuckled, “You’re welcome.”

Hikaru moved to box up the pamphlets Ben moved to the side. “So is there anything I can help you with?” He asked as he placed the last of the discarded PADDs into the box. “Now that you’ve just done me a huge favour by sorting through all of these?”

“You can help me get a job,” Ben joked.

“Sure thing, I’ll just go talk to Jim,” Hikaru joked back.

“Hikaru,” Ben warned.

Hikaru held his hands up in surrender, “I know, I know. You’d rather be here with Dem and the Enterprise is no place to raise a child.” Hikaru leaned over Ben and gave him a peck on the cheek. “I was only teasing.”

“I know,” Ben sighed, “But I’m not, Hikaru. I need a job, I need one here on Yorktown and all of my interviews have gone to shit.”

 

Hikaru pried the PADD out of Ben’s hands and sat down in his lap. “Someone will hire you, they’d be foolish not to. You don’t give yourself enough credit, you need to know that. Ben, you saved an alien plant from dying and killing everyone. Not only that but you have an infinite knowledge of flora from across Federation space.”

“Not as good as you.” Ben muttered.

“Yeah, well,” Hikaru shrugged, “I’m the Federation’s best pilot, I’ve always been out of your league.”

Ben chuckled at that, “And yet, I reduced that pilot to nothing but a flustered, lovesick mess when we first met.”

“Which is why you’re better than me.”

“In what way?” Ben asked, smiling, “Two seconds ago you were out of my league and now I’m suddenly on top?”

Hikaru smirked, “We all have our strengths.” 

He paused as he whispered into Ben’s ear, “And let’s be honest, Ben you’re always on top.” Ben’s face flushed instantly as Hikaru climbed out of Ben’s lap. Hikaru turned to leave after he traced his fingers down the inside of Ben’s thigh. Hikaru couldn’t even make it to the dining room before Ben dragged him by the arm to their bedroom.

 

This was the only time Ben was happy that Demora was not at home; he did not want her to hear the foul noises coming from her parents’ room. 

  
\-----  
  


Ben collapsed on top of Hikaru 45 minutes later, completely out of breath.

“Okay, we definitely have to do a lot more of this while you’re still here.” Ben spoke between uneven breaths. 

“You mean a lot more of me?” Hikaru asked, smugly.

Ben stretched his arm out and grabbed a pillow, hitting Hikaru with it.

“You know you love me,” Hikaru singsung, pulling Ben down into a kiss. 

“I know,” Ben whispered, kissing his husband again. “I love you so fucking much.” Ben left a trail of kisses down Hikaru’s chest and ending at his stomach. “I’m...so...in...love...with...you,” He spoke in between kisses.

“Well it’s a good thing that I am too,” Hikaru murmured, playing with Ben’s hair.

 

“If you had a uterus, I would have just made you pregnant.”

Hikaru clapped his hands sarcastically, “Congratulations Ben! You just passed human biology 101.”

Ben playfully shoved Hikaru’s shoulder, “Hey, I’m just as gay if not more than you, you should be proud that I even know what a uterus is.”

Hikaru giggled, “You’re ridiculous.”

“And gay,” Ben added.

“Yes, and that,” Hikaru laughed.

 

“Ben,” Hikaru hummed as he pulled Ben up and into another kiss.

“Oh ‘Ru,” Ben breathed, lying down next to his husband.

“You need a nickname,” Hikaru spoke in the quiet apartment.

Ben turned towards him, “What’s wrong with Ben?”

“Nothing! Nothing’s wrong with Ben,” Hikaru explained, “It’s just...I don’t have any nicknames for you. I mean it’s been 8 years Ben, and I still don’t have one nickname for you.”

“You call me honey and sweetie on a regular basis and on our honeymoon you called me hubby.  

“Yeah, but those are pet names, they’re different.” Hikaru argued.

“More different than rice cakes?” Ben asked, raising an eyebrow. “Because I’m pretty sure that you wouldn’t stop calling me rice cakes during the Academy.”

 

“Okay, okay,” Hikaru laughed, “You win, it’s been awhile and I forgot about all of those.”

Ben held up a finger, adding, “And if I recall this correctly, when we were dating, you referred to me as McDreamy. After that was amour, marshmallow man, sugar and-”

Hikaru smiled as he covered Ben’s mouth with his hand, “Okay, that’s enough, I’ll start using some of those again.”

Ben hummed, “Which ones?”

“Well, I’ll definitely bring back amour, I know how much you love that one.” Hikaru answered, watching the bright blush appear on Ben’s face. “And for some extra fun, I’ll start calling you hubby and rice cakes.”

Ben groaned, “Oh don’t bring back rice cakes, because you know Dem’s going to catch onto it and start calling me that all times.”

Hikaru chuckled, “Okay, I’ll try and refrain from using rice cakes.”

 

“Wait!” Ben cried out, reaching over to get his watch from the night stand. “What time is it?” He asked himself, his clock read 12:15. “Oh shit!”

“Hikaru!” Ben shouted, clambering off of his husband, “We have to get dressed now!”

“Ben, what’s going on?” Hikaru asked, making no effort to get off the bed. 

“It’s 12:15, we’re late for picking Dem up.” He explained, throwing random clothing items at Hikaru. 

“Can’t we shower first?” Hikaru complained as a pair of boxers hit him in the face.

“No time for that! Come on, let’s go,” Ben spoke, struggling into his pants, that seemed far too tight all the sudden. Hikaru scrambled to get the boxers and pants on, while still on the bed. He climbed off the bed, buttoning up his shirt as he followed Ben, who was doing the same thing, out the door. 

 

They were about halfway down the stairs when Hikaru noticed that his pants wouldn’t stop falling down. “What the hell?” He asked himself, looking down at his pants. “Oh! Well that makes a lot of sense.”

“Hey Ben?” Hikaru asked.

“Yeah?” Ben answered, still running down the stairs.

“Are your pants feeling a little...uh, tight?”

Ben’s brow furrowed, “Yeah, what’s so important about that?” 

“You’re wearing my pants...and I’m wearing yours.” Hikaru replied.

Ben stopped, “Well that’s ridiculous I’m not wear-” He cut himself off when he saw his own pants, hanging loosely on Hikaru’s legs. Slowly, he looked down at his own legs; which Ben could only describe as what would happen if you vacuum sealed your pants to your legs.

“We should change,” Hikaru suggested.

“We don’t have time for that, right now we have to get Dem. We’ll change once we get back.”

“So you expect me to run to the other side of Yorktown, while I hold up your pants which are falling off my body?”

“Yeah, suck it up!” Ben replied, “Literally.”

  
  


“Hey Dem, we’re sorry we’re late.” Ben panted once he and Hikaru arrived at Demora’s school. “We were...working and lost track of time.” Hikaru lied, hoping it sounded at least somewhat believable. Luckily, Demora seemed to believe it, while a faculty member glanced at them skeptically. 

“So Dem, how was school?” Ben asked, as the family walked back to their apartment.

“Oooo, we got a class pet!” She squealed, reaching up to grab her parents hands. 

“Really? What type of animal is your class pet?” Hikaru asked.

“It’s a...R-Risan sea turtle,” She answered, stumbling over her words, “His name is Shelly!”

Hikaru and Ben couldn’t help but smile at the turtle’s name, leave it to a bunch of 4 year olds to decide on a name.

 

When the family got home, Hikaru and Ben distracted Demora by telling her to get ready for a bath. She skipped away to the bathroom while Hikaru and Ben entered their bedroom to swap pants.

“Did you see the death stare that one administrator was giving us?” Ben asked, attempting to push the pants down and off his thighs with little success. 

“Yeah, that was terrifying.” Hikaru answered, moving over to Ben to help him pull of his own pants.

“Do you think she knew why we were late?” Ben grunted as Hikaru wrenched his pants of of Ben.

Hikaru scoffed, “Really? Your legs looked like they were about to burst out of your pants. As for me? I couldn’t make it five steps without having to pull my pants up to my chest.”

Ben grimaced, “Was it really that obvious?”

“We weren’t that bad, I don’t think Dem noticed, but that one teacher certainly did.” Hikaru muttered, taking of his pants and chucking them at Ben.

“Well, on the bright side, I think I can feel my legs again,” Ben whimpered, rubbing at his thighs.

Hikaru chuckled, picking up his own pants and sliding them onto his legs. Ben stood up to put on his own pants, wobbling on his feet for a while.

“I never can understand how you can maintain such a slim, lean physique, while I’m over here with my bulky thighs and large chest.” Ben spoke, resting his hands on Hikaru’s hips.

“I like your thighs,” Hikaru replied, giving each of them a squeeze, which drew out a yelp from Ben. “And there’s nothing wrong with your physique, it’s beautiful and oh-so hot.” 

 

Hikaru pecked Ben on the cheek before chirping, “Alright, let’s give Demora the best bubble bath she’s ever had in her life!”

Ben smiled as he watched his husband jog down to the bathroom, he knocked twice before Demora told him he could open the door. Ben couldn’t imagine what his life would be like without his beautiful family; his incredible, outrageous husband and their full of life, sweet, caring daughter.

  
  


Ben and Hikaru filled up the tub, filled it with more bubbles than was probably necessary and checked the temperature before Demora got into the tub. Hikaru and Ben knelt beside the tub and started scooping handfuls of bubbles into Demora’s hair. Demora giggled as the bubbles slid from her hair, down her shoulders and back. 

“It’s tickles,” She laughed as Hikaru scooped more bubbles onto her back.

Hikaru was startled when he was suddenly hit with a blast of water. Sputtering he looked over at Ben who was holding a water gun. “What the...when did you get that?” Hikaru asked, wiping the water away from his face. 

“Dem and I bought them at that little corner store right by our building. We thought they would be fun in the courtyard, but then we realized that they made bath time a lot more enjoyable.”

“Wait! Them? You have more than one?” Hikaru asked.

He was answered by a second stream of water that hit him in the chest.

“Yeah, Papa bought a whole bunch of them so we would never run out!” Demora replied, shooting Hikaru in the chest again. 

“Well, where’s mine?” Hikaru huffed, “I need to defend myself.”

 

Ben handed Hikaru a water gun, Hikaru took it and added, “And my honour.”

“Oh yeah, your precious Starfleet honour,” Ben spoke sarcastically. 

Demora shot Ben with her water gun. “Papa! Starfleet honour is important! Nothing can compete with Starfleet honour.” Demora declared proudly with her bubble filled hair. 

Ben turned to Hikaru and laughed, “You see what you’ve done? You’ve turned our own daughter against me.”

“Well, you can’t compete with a space travelling Starfleet pilot.” Hikaru joked.

Ben smiled and pulled Hikaru into a side hug, “Well, I don’t mean to brag, but I am the best unemployed father in this apartment.”

Hikaru shrugged, “You do have a point.”

Demora smiled at her dads as she hit them with two shots of her water gun. “You two are ridiculous,” She laughed. Ben and Hikaru shared a look before grabbing their guns and playfully shooting at their daughter.

  
  


The family had to stop once they had soaked the entire floor of the bathroom; they were all hysterical and could not stop giggling under their breaths. As soon as one of them let out a chuckle, the other two would burst out laughing. Ben had doubled over, Hikaru was on the floor, laughing up at the ceiling and Demora was giggling and splashing the bath water everywhere.

“Okay,” Ben spoke in between fits of laughter, “We have to stop...before we...flood the bathroom.”

“But,” Hikaru spoke, struggling to contain his laughter as he squirted Ben with a water gun, “It’s...so...much fun!”

“Yeah Papa!” Demora cheered.

“But, we probably should stop before we flood the bathroom.” Hikaru answered.

 

Much to Demora’s disappointment, the family set down their water guns and agreed that Ben won that round. Hikaru washed the bubbles off of Demora while Ben washed her hair. Together, they helped her out of the tub and wrapped a gigantic towel around her. They sent her off to her room so they could clean up the bathroom. “You still think it’s a good idea for Demora to be playing with water guns in the bathroom.” Hikaru asked, mopping up a large puddle.

“Yes, I do,” Ben answered, “Demora has a lot more fun this way and the bathroom is a far better place for a water gun fight than say, the living room.”

“I still think the courtyard would be a better place for than the apartment.”

“You can think what you want to, but when you’re out in space, there’s nothing you can do to stop us!” Ben smirked, playfully shoving at husband.

Hikaru admitted, “Well you’re not wrong. Just don’t wreck the bathroom; we paid a lot of good credits to get this apartment, don’t destroy it!”

  
\----- _Several Hours Later_ \-----  
  


Hikaru looked forward to the evenings, when the three of them would sit down and watch a movie together until Demora would inevitably fall asleep. He and Ben would still finish the movie, incase Demora woke up. This night, she did not wake up and Ben ended up carrying her to bed, so he and Hikaru could tuck her in. 

“‘Night, sweetie,” Ben whispered with a kiss to her cheek.

“Goodnight, Dem,” Hikaru cooed, kissing her forehead.

The two of them left Demora’s room, closing the door behind them as they sat down on their bed. Hikaru leaned over and grabbed the stack of adoption pamphlets and scattered them across their bed.

“Alright, let’s start narrowing these down,” Hikaru spoke, clapping his hands together. 

  
  


“Okay, what about this one?” Ben answered, 10 minutes later, handing Hikaru the paper booklet he was holding. “Starlight Adoption Agency, they offer one month of paid childhood expenses for the adopted child and will match us up with a child within 2-4 months.”

“Yeah, but we have to pay travel expenses to meet with the agency, our child and travel back home with our potential child. Shuttles don’t go that far out, we’d have to book a spot on a ship in order to get there.”

“Oh yeah...didn’t think about that.”

Hikaru handed Ben a PADD, “What about Sweet Garden Adoptions? They’re stationed right here on Yorktown and they have kids ranging from newborns up until 3 years old. If we fill out their application and survey, they will send over a social worker to meet our family and determine if we match their standards and will match us with a child.”

Ben looked up from the PADD and met Hikaru’s eyes, “How long does it take for the social worker to come and to be matched with a child?” He asked.

“Uh...the social worker will come within 2 weeks and if we meet their requirements fully, then within a few days they will send us a file on a child that is best for our family.”

Ben’s eyes widened, “Really? Wow, that’s incredible.” Ben took a deep breath, “Will we be prepared for a change like this so soon?” 

“Well, I want to get acquainted with our baby before I leave for space again, so for me, sooner would be better.”

Ben muffled a yawn with his hand, “Okay, how about we start submitting our applications to them in a few days and we call it a night for today.”

“Deal,” Hikaru yawned, clearing the PADDs and booklets from their bed.

 

The two men changed out of their casual clothes and climbed into bed. 

“‘Night Ru,” Ben murmured, against Hikaru’s neck.

“Bonne nuit, mon amour,” Hikaru sung quietly.

Ben smiled and leaned over to kiss his husband.

  
Ben fell asleep thinking, “Je t'aime mon chéri.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru speaks a little bit of french in this chapter. The translations are written below:  
> Amour: Love  
> Bonne nuit mon amour: Good night my love  
> Je t'aime mon chéri: I love you my darling
> 
> I like to imagine that Hikaru spends so much time with Nyota that he's learned a lot of random phrases from various languages. So he knows how to say "fuck off" in Romulan, "I'm a spaceman" in Andorian and "Fight me" in Klingon, which almost gets him killed on an away mission. Sometimes he'll ask Nyota how to say a phrase in a certain language and she'll answer back instantly.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I really like how it turned out. I will return to this story soon and I hope you will wait with me until I can start uploading again. Thank you all so much, you've been incredible!!!


	13. The First Step

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru and Ben reflect on old memories as they make new ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Guess who's back from the dead... it's me. Wow, it's been 4 months since I lay a finger on this story. I'm so sorry about the wait. My life has been crazy. I stopped working on this story after I got a job, I started being more productive and I would end every day exhausted with no time to work on this chunk of my life. So, if there's any of you who are still reading this story of mine, thank you so much for being patient with me and getting this far. I will not be posting as regularly as I was before, but posting this chapter will encourage me to update more than once every four months. 
> 
> Anyways, if my lovely readers are still out there, this is for you and I hope you won't kill me for abandoning this story for 4 months. Please enjoy and let me know what you think. Thank you so much everyone, I love all of you.

Ben couldn’t believe how quickly his life was changing, he almost missed the past where it was just him and Hikaru at the Academy. Yes, he loved Demora and how perfectly she fit into their little family, but he did love the times before they had her. When it was just him and Hikaru.

 

* * *

_ “Hey, where should I put these?” Hikaru asked, holding up a set of teacups. _

_ Ben thought for a minute. “Maybe above the stove? On the top shelf?” He answered.  
_

_ “But I won’t be able to use them for evening tea time if they’re way in the back and out of my reach.” Hikaru complained. _

_ Ben chuckled, taking the teacups from his boyfriend and his very new apartment roommate. “Well, that’s why you have me.” He teased. _

_ “But I can’t reach them,” Hikaru repeated, jumping up to reach the top shelf. He failed horribly, landing on his butt. _

_ “Pffft, tiny,” Ben snickered, offering a hand to Hikaru. _

_ “Don’t call me tiny!” Hikaru warned, but accepted Ben’s hand. “Besides that’s not what you said about me last week.” _

_ Ben blushed lightly, before rolling his eyes, “If you’re trying to compare yourself to me, might I remind you that I’m still bigger in more ways than one.” _

_ Hikaru crossed his arms and pouted, “Okay, fine! You win, but I’m still upset about needing you to get my teacups for me.” _

_ “Well, that just means you’ll have to start drinking more coffee.” Ben smirked.  _

_ “Pfft, yeah right! As if that would ever happen.” Hikaru scoffed, “And if anything I will convert you to a tea drinker way before I succumb to coffee.” _

_ Ben laughed loudly, “Not happening, you’ll never convert me.” _

 

_ Ben was converted 2 weeks later, but still enjoyed his occasional cup of coffee. As for Hikaru? Well, he started drinking coffee in the mornings when the Academy became brutally hard, but he always made Ben sit down with him for evening tea time.  _

 

* * *

Ben couldn’t help but smile at the memory, the day he and Hikaru had finally moved into an apartment together. After months of sleeping in each other’s dorm rooms, their broke college brains thought it would be a good idea to buy an apartment together. It was a good idea in theory, but they found themselves thoroughly embarrassed 4 months later when they had to ask their parents to help them pay their lease.   


 

“Hey, what’s your favourite memory of us?” Ben asked Hikaru, several days later. The two were lying down on their bed, trying to settle their stomachs from the lunch they had with the rest of the bridge crew.

Hikaru moaned, covering his face with his hands, “You’ll laugh at me.”

“No I won’t,” Ben answered.

Hikaru glared at his husband, “It’s when  we went ice skating, with Bones and Spock.” 

 

* * *

_ Hikaru was thrilled when Bones and Spock had finally started dating. As much as he loved those two fighting over logic and emotions, he did love watching them make googly eyes at each other in Yorktown's cafes. But when Spock called him at 20:00, asking if he and Ben wanted to go on a double date with him and “Leo”, Hikaru almost choked, on his tea. Nevertheless, he and Ben agreed to meet Spock and Bones at Solstice Iceplex in Obsidian Plaza.  _

 

_ “Ugh, you green blooded go-” Bones cut himself off, “You told me that we would be watching someone skate, not actually skate!” _

_ “I exaggerated,” Spock said, plainly, tying up his skates. Bones scowled at the Vulcan, “Why you-” _

_ “Bones!” Hikaru barked, “Relax, it’s just ice skating... what could go wrong?” _

_ “Apparently a lot could go wrong,” Hikaru observed, as he saw Bones trip over his feet, fall onto Spock and skid across the rink. They ended up sending an Andorian couple to the ground as they crashed into them. Hikaru and Ben burst out laughing before skating over to the collapsed couples. _

_ “You need a hand?” Ben giggled, holding out a gloved hand to Bones. Bones grimaced, but accepted Ben’s hand anyways.  _

_ “Maybe you should get Spock to teach you, Mr. Clumsy?” Hikaru joked, doubling over. _

_ “Any more jokes like that and you will wake up in a hospital on Delta Vega with no recollection of how you got there and why you are there.” Bones warned, glaring at Hikaru. _

  
  


_ Hikaru and Ben skated around in circles, holding hands, as they watched Spock teach Bones how to skate. They had a bit of a rocky start, but after a lot of careful explanations and pointers, Bones could skate around the rink, just like anyone else could. _

_ “Ha Ha!” Bones exclaimed, pointing at Hikaru and Ben, “Take that you fuc-”  _

_ He was cut off by Spock slamming his hand against Bones’s mouth. “Leonard, I advise you to speak in a more appropriate way. There are young children here, it would be unwise to teach them such fowl language at an early age.” _

_ “Oh relax Spock,” Hikaru drawled, “I’m sure none of them are paying any attention.” _

_ “And if they were,” Ben began, “It was only because of your partner’s terrible skating attempts.” _

 

_ If they weren’t surrounded by other people, Bones would have hypoed Ben instantly. But he also didn’t want to bring out the wrath of Hikaru. Bones mentally shivered at the thought. He’d seen Hikaru go ice cold when he was pissed off, it was something he never wanted to have directed at him. _

_ So he laughed at himself and enjoyed the sound of his friends laughing around him. “Yeah,” He thought, “This is what it’s like to have a family.” _

 

* * *

“Oh man,” Ben laughed, clutching at his chest. “ That was incredible, watching Bones on those skates was just too damn funny.”

“What’s your favourite?” Hikaru asked, still giggling from his memory.

“Well, mine had to be just now, when we went to lunch with the crew and Demora. Just seeing them interact with her and talk and play with her was one of the most heartwarming things I’ve ever seen.”

 

_ “Demora!” Aunt Nyota screeched. _

_ Demora lit up, running at full speed towards her. “Auntie Ny!” _

_ Nyota knelt down and Demora ran into her arms, “It’s been forever since I’ve seen you!” Demora screeched. _

_ “ _ _ ¿Como has estado? _ _ ” Nyota asked Demora in Spanish. _

_ “ _ _ Bueno! Tengo la mayoría de las estrellas de oro en mi clase. _ _ ” She replied in Spanish. _

_ “ _ _ Eso es increíble _ _!  _ _ Estoy muy orgulloso de ti! _ _ ” Nyota smiled brightly as she released her hold on the girl, “ _ _ Tú _ _ debe ir a hablar con tu tíos. _ _ ” _

_ “Okay!” Demora chirped, sprinting towards Spock and Scotty. She laughed out, “Uncle Spock,” As she hugged the man’s legs. If anyone was watching the pair, they would have seen Spock smile. Hikaru saw the whole thing go down and he regretted not bringing his PADD.  _

 

_ Spock lifted her into his arms and watched as she wrapped her small arms around his neck. “You need a new haircut,” She complained. _

_ Spock quirked an eyebrow.  _

_ “She’s right, you know,” Jim spoke, approaching Spock and Demora.  _

_ “I see no problem with the one I have now,” Spock answered, plainly. _

_ “It’s not very pretty,” Demora mumbled, “It needs more style... it’s needs more glitter!” _

_ Ben approached the group, taking Demora out of Spock’s arms, “Dem, I don’t think Uncle Spock wants to have glitter in his hair.” _

_ “But why not?” She asked, “Glitter’s pretty!” _

_ Jim raised his hand, “I second this! Dem, let’s go get some glitter!” The girl beamed and wrestled out of Ben’s grasp, running after Jim. _

_ “Don’t you dare put glitter in my boyfriend’s hair!” Bones laughed, chasing after the two children. _

 

_ Ben turned to Spock and whispered, “You might want to get out of here while you can.” _

_ “I see no point in trying to fight it, Mr. Sulu, I welcome this use of glitter.” _

_ Ben’s eyebrows shot up, surprised.  _

_ “Wow, Bones has sure worked his magic on you...” Ben teased before walking away to find Hikaru. _

 

* * *

“Yeah, that was fun,” Hikaru hummed.

They sat together in the living room for a while, until Ben spoke again. “Should we start filling out our applications today?”

Hikaru was quiet before answering, “We still haven’t talked to Dem about Sweet Gardens. We need to check with her first and get her opinion on it.”

“Do you want to go talk to her now or later?” Ben asked.

“We need to get started on the applications soon, so, I would say now.”

Ben nodded before getting up from the couch; he grabbed Hikaru’s hand and walked with him to Demora’s room. As they stood outside Demora’s door; they looked at each other, exchanging a worried expression.

“Are you sure about this?” Ben asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Hikaru answered, “We need to ask her before we continue, she’s a part of this now. She needs to have a say in this.”

“Yeah, but, is it the right time?” Ben questioned, “It’s just a lot, what if they can’t get us a baby.”

“Then everything will be the same and that will never change unless we go in there and talk to her.”

Ben took a deep breath, “You’re right.”

Hikaru put each of his hands on Ben’s arms, “We can do this, it will be alright.”

Ben smiled and nodded, linking one of his hands with Hikaru’s. Hikaru knocked on the door, there was a muffled, “Come in!” From the other side. Hikaru opened the door and walked inside with Ben behind him. Demora was lying down on her bed, colouring.

“Hey Dem,” Hikaru spoke softly, “Can we talk to you?”

“Sure!” She smiled, sitting up and putting her colouring book on her desk.

Hikaru and Ben joined her on her bed, they shared on final look before looking back at Demora.

“Dem, as you know, we’ve been planning and thinking about adding someone else to our family.” Ben started, reaching out and grabbing one of Demora’s hands, while Hikaru grabbed the other.

“And we want you to be involved in this, you are part of this family.” Hikaru added, running his thumb along Demora’s fingers. She looked up at the two of them, her face curious. “We think we’ve found a good place,” Ben spoke softly, handing Demora the pamphlet. “It’s right here on Yorktown and we want you to tell us what you think.”

She smiled, handing back the pamphlet, “I love it!”

“Really?” Hikaru breathed and Demora nodded enthusiastically. “Well, we would love it if you would join us for the application process.” Hikaru continued.

“What’s that?” She asked, her head tilting to the side.

“It’s a bunch of papers and PADD forms that we fill out in order to adopt another child.” Ben explained softly.

“Can we do that now?” She asked, excitedly, hopping off the bed and onto her feet. 

Hikaru and Ben laughed and led Demora out of the room, “Of course we can.”

 

They all sat down at the dining room table, with 2 PADDS and a small folder of forms in front of them. They answered what seemed like an endless amount of questions. Some of which included, their names, birthdays, contact information and anything regarding Demora.

“What’s a profession?” Demora asked, confused.

“Your job,” Hikaru answered. “So, put Starfleet pilot and xenobotanist.” Demora nodded, her brow furrowed in concentration as she typed his response into the PADD. Hikaru made a mental note to check her spelling later on, before submitting the final forms.  


“Reasons for wanting to adopt?” She asked.

“Uhh,” Hikaru thought. 

“To expand our family and because we love children.” Ben replied, kissing Demora’s head. She giggled before inputting his response.

“Hmm,” Hikaru’s hummed, confused, “Age range and preferences?”

“Age range... 6 months to 2 years? Maybe? As for preferences, I don’t really have any. Like as long as their well behaved, caring and get along with other kids, than that’s fine with me. Okay, we need some references to send a video to the agency.”

“Why?” Hikaru mumbled.

“To prove we’re not sociopaths, that we will take care of our children properly and give them the love they need and deserve.” Ben explained, kissing Demora’s cheeks. 

“Okay, I’ll get Jim to send one and maybe Bones to send one too. That should look good for us, a Starfleet captain and the Enterprise’s CMO as our references.” Hikaru spoke, opening up his contact list. He scrolled down until he found Jim and Bones, he called them both and waited for the call to connect.

 

“Hikaru!” Jim shouted, “Long time no see! How can I help you?”

“Alright, this better be good,” Bones complained, “I’m missing out on some good old-fashioned sleep for this call. What’s going on?”

“I need... well, we need your help.” Hikaru started, “You both know that we’re sending in applications for adoptions, right?”

Two head nods.

“Well, we need some references to prove we are who we say we are. That we are capable of taking care of children and would make good parents to another child.”

“Oh, okay,” Jim answered.

“I’ll get right on that,” Bones added.

Hikaru breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank you so much, guys! We owe you one. All you have to do, is send a video to us, explaining who you are, how you know us and why we should be considered to the agency.” 

“No problem,” Jim spoke, “I wish you guys good luck! I hope they contact you soon!”

“I would love to make a video for you guys. I can’t wait to meet the next Sulu!” Bones replied, smiling.

“Thank you so much, I’ll let you go now!” Hikaru grinned.

“Okay, goodbye Hikaru!”

“Tell Ben and Dem, I said, Hi!”

“Bye guys!” Hikaru breathed.

 

* * *

The 30 minutes it took Jim and Bones to send their videos, seemed like hours for Hikaru and Ben. Their heads felt like they were about to explode from all the anticipation. “Okay, I just got Bones’s video,” Ben called from the dining room, “We can watch both his and Jim’s videos and if they’re good, we’ll be done our application!”

Hikaru beamed, giving him a kiss and sitting down next to him. “That’s great!”  


“So, does that mean I’m going to be a sister?” Demora gasped, crawling into their lap.

Hikaru and Ben shared a look before answering together, “Yeah, yeah it does.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following is the translation of Nyota and Demora's conversation.  
>  _"How are you?"_  
>  _"I've been good! I have more gold stars in my class than anyone else."_  
>  _"Wow, that’s incredible Dem! I’m so proud of you."_  
>  _"Well Dem, why don’t you go talk to Uncle Spock and Uncle Scotty."_  
>  I got my friend to help me with the translations. If they don't make sense, please let me know and I will fix them.
> 
>  
> 
> So what did you think? Is that chapter enough to save me from the shame you will shed on me for almost abandoning you? I didn't mean to, I've always had this story in the back of my mind, simmering. I have a lot of ideas for this story and if you have any suggestions or things you'd like me to add, then please share them with me and I will include them into my story.  
> You can also talk to me on [tumblr](http://gayspacepilots.tumblr.com/), I'm super shy and introverted, but if you send me a message or an ask, I will answer it as soon as I can.
> 
> Well, that's it for now. I love all of my beautiful readers, stay strong, you are all wonderful.


	14. Past Memories and Future Possibilities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family watches some emotional videos, ices some cookies and Ben reflects on some past memories.

The three were startled when Ben’s PADD started ringing. “You should get that, before we review Jim and Bones’s videos.” Hikaru answered. Ben nodded before leaving the dining room and heading out onto the balcony to answer the call.

A female, Ben did not recognize, appeared on the screen.

“Mr. Ben Sulu, right?” The woman spoke.

“Yes, how can I help you?”

“Mr. Sulu, I am Commodore Paris,” She introduced, “I heard about the tragedy that happened with your lab and the Gamma Botany facility.”

Ben paled, “Oh, I’m so sorry about that. I didn’t mean to-”

Ben stopped when she held up her hand. “You did nothing wrong, Mr. Sulu. You tried to fix a fellow officer’s mistake, there should be no fault in that.”

“But I-”

The commodore cut him off again, “Neleeso, who was responsible for the radiation leak, has been transferred to another starbase and your boss, Zarek Thomas, has been fired.”

“Really? Why?”

“For blaming and firing an officer who did nothing wrong.” The commodore continued, “So Ben, I am here to offer you a promotion. Would you be interested in becoming the Chief of Intergalactic Plant Development and Evolution.”

Ben was stunned, completely stunned, “Umm, yes! That would be incredible! Would I still be able to conduct tests and grow plants in the labs?”

“Yes, of course you would. You will also have a higher ranking and you will be transferred to a new facility in Lunar Square.”

Ben smiled brightly, “That sounds incredible! Thank you so much Commodore, I cannot thank you enough for this.”

“It was my pleasure, good luck Mr. Sulu!” She spoke, ending the call.

 

Ben, practically glowing, walked back into the living room where his family was sitting. He couldn't contain the huge smile that spread across his face. “Guess what?” He sung happily.

“What is it?” Demi asked, her brow furrowed.

“I got a job!”

“What?! Really?” Hikaru asked.

Ben nodded and beamed, “Commodore Paris called me and offered me a promotion. She sent me all the details and it’s got better pay, better, more lenient hours and more vacation time. Also, it’s in a brand new building and it’s incredible, I can’t wait to get started.”

“Yay, Papa!” Demora screeched, hugging Ben’s legs. He lifted her up as they all shared one large group hug.

“Oh, Ben,” Hikaru sighed, “I’m so happy for you!”

They all hugged each other tightly until Ben spoke, “Alright, let’s watch these videos.”

 

_It took a couple of seconds for the camera to focus on James' face. He let out a small smile and smoothed down his shirt before he begun._

_Taking a deep breath, he cleared his throat and spoke, “Hello, my name is James T Kirk, Captain of the USS Enterprise and I am submitting this as a reference for my colleagues and dear friends, Hikaru and Ben Sulu.” Jim paused before continuing, “Hikaru and Ben are exemplary fathers of a young girl, Demora, and they are looking to expand their family. They are extremely caring people and would welcome another child into their family with open arms. They make me, a man who is not attached to anyone, want to have and start a family with someone. They are an inspiration to me and to parents everywhere, they deserve the chance to expand their family. Please give them that chance.”_

 

* * *

_“Hello, Sweet Garden Adoptions, I am Doctor Leonard McCoy and I am a close friend of Ben and Hikaru Sulu. I have known Hikaru and Ben for almost 7 years and I can say, without a doubt,” He stopped to take a shaky breath, “They are the sweetest and most caring people I have ever met. They have a 4 year old daughter, who is an absolute sweetheart. She’s at the top of her class and gets along well with all of her classmates and friends. She would make an excellent sister and would enjoy having another child in their family. As for Hikaru and Ben, they love children and they have the biggest hearts when it comes to love and family. They would make incredible parents and would make any child happy to be a part of their family.”_

 

Hikaru and Ben looked at each other with tears in their eyes. With these videos, there was no doubt in their minds that they wouldn’t be matched with a child. “Are we going to send them?” Demora piped up from her spot in between them.

“Yeah, we’re going to do that right now,” Hikaru answered, as he attached the videos to their PADD application. “Well, here we go...” He spoke, pressing the blue send button on the bottom of the application.

“Let’s make some cookies!” Demora called, running into the kitchen.

“Why?” Ben laughed.

“To celebrate Papa’s job and my new sister.”

“Or brother,” Hikaru suggested.

“Or other,” Ben added.

“No!” Demora argued, “Sister!”

The men rolled their eyes as they followed Demora into the kitchen to make some cookies.

 

* * *

 

Ben very quickly found out that there was nothing that Demora liked more than baking and sweets. With the exception of her dads, her godparents and all the plants their family had grown over the years. Ben had discovered this just after he baked a pie for one of his work parties and his pie went missing. He found it 2 hours later, in the hands of Demora, whom was sitting in her closet, clutching her stomach and moaning in pain.

 

_Ben put on his oven mitts and reached into the oven to pull out his stunning, blueberry pie. “Damn, that is one fine pie.” Ben thought to himself, smirking ever so slightly. He left the kitchen and took off his oven mitts when he heard his PADD ring in the living room. However, when he returned to the kitchen, the pie was gone._

_“What the...?” Ben asked himself, “Where did it go? It was just here, it was here a few minutes ago.”_

_Just when Ben was about to lose hope, he heard a groan of pain in the apartment. Ben paused, listening for it again. When he heard it again his first thought was, “Oh no.” Panicking, Ben ran into Demora’s room and called out, “Dem?”_

_A broken moan answered him from the closet. Ben walked over and turned the handle, knowing exactly what and who was behind that door. When he opened it, light flooded into the small closet and Demora looked up at him. Her hands, arms and face were covered in blueberry pie filling and crust crumbs._

_“I’m sorry,” She mumbled, a few tears falling from her face._

_Ben’s face contorted in pain, “Oh sweetie,” He spoke, kneeling down beside her and carefully pulling her into his arms._

_“I’m not mad,” He continued, moving her hair behind her ears and down her back._

_“You’re not?” She asked, hiccupping._

_Ben kissed her head lightly before answering, “No, of course not. You clearly enjoyed it, so I’m glad that you liked my pie.”_

_“It was really good.” Demora hummed, leaning into Ben’s chest._

_“Was it worth it?”_

_“Yeah, it was definitely worth it.”_

_It took several months before Demora could handle eating dessert after the Blueberry Pie Incident._

 

* * *

 

Ben also discovered that Demora loved decorating desserts. Whether it be the decorations on a cake or the chocolate drizzles on top of truffles. Demora was always asking to decorate them. However, nothing made Demora happier than making and decorating sugar cookies. It all started when Demora was complaining that it was unfair that sugar cookies were only made in the winter. Which is what started the trend of the Sulu family baking christmas cookies in the summer.

The family of three were sitting at the dining table, cutting out Enterprise shaped cookies from a rolled out sheet of sugar cookie dough.

“Papa! Daddy!” Demora exclaimed, “Look at all my cookies!”

Ben and Hikaru leaned over her shoulders and examined the vast array of cookie shapes on her cookie pan. She had 7 Enterprises, 5 ½ stars, 8 flowers and 3 Yorktown cookie cutouts.

“Wow Demi,” Ben answered, kissing her head, “They look amazing.”

“I can’t wait to try them!” Hikaru added.

Ben reached over and grabbed the pan, “Let’s get these in the oven while we finish loading up the other pan.”

Demora helped her dads cut out cookie shapes from the remaining dough until there wasn’t enough dough to use for cookies.

“Here Dem,” Ben spoke, handing her the leftover dough, “You have it, you earned it.”

Demora beamed and took a chunk out of the dough and handed it to Ben, “You earned it too!”

Ben smiled as Demora devoured her cookie dough.

“What about me?” Hikaru laughed, pretending to be offended.

Ben rolled his eyes and halved his dough, giving one of the halves to Hikaru. They ate their dough as Ben put the second tray of cookies into the oven.

Hikaru suggested that they should work on the icing while their cookies were baking. Once they were finished making the fifth shade of icing, the timer for their cookies went off. Ben put on his oven mitts and pulled the cookie pans out of the oven, letting them rest before taking them off the pans and onto a set of platters. He divided them into 3 sections, one for each family member. The family slowly iced every single cookie in their pile. When they were finished, they sat back and admired their handiwork.

“Papa! Daddy! You have to try my cookies!” Demora shrieked into his ear.

“I’d love to have one of your cookies, Demi-sweetie,” Hikaru answered, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Which one would you recommend?” Ben asked, shuffling closer.

“Hmmm,” Demora thought, scanning her iced cookies.

“This one!” She screeched, holding out a yellow iced star with white polka dots and handing it to Hikaru. She looked back at her cookies before handing Ben a blue iced Enterprise.

“They’re delicious Demi,” Hikaru mumbled through his full mouth.

“Here, take this one,” Ben spoke, handing Demora a yellow iced Yorktown from his pile and a green iced rose from Hikaru’s pile.

They quietly ate their cookies, murmuring about how tasty they were, in between sips of milk. Hikaru and Ben put the remaining cookies, that they didn’t eat, into a container and left it on the counter. Ben washed out their milk cups as Hikaru and Demora left the kitchen and sat in the living room. To him, it seemed like just yesterday, he and Hikaru were feeding Demora with a bottle, while she lay peacefully in their arms.

 

* * *

 

_Hikaru was gently rocking Demora in his arms, desperately trying to comfort her while Ben rushed to refill her bottle. There were tears streaming down Demora’s face as Hikaru cooed, “Shh, shh. It’s okay Dem. We’re going to feed you, don’t worry.”_

_“Okay, I’ve got it!” Ben gasped, running out of the kitchen to hand Demora’s bottle to Hikaru. Hikaru propped Demora up in his arms a bit more before bringing the bottle to her lips. Her crying stopped as soon as she started to suck the milk from the bottle._

_Hikaru and Ben both let out huge sighs. Demora had been crying for seemed like hours on end and they couldn’t make her stop crying. “Thank goodness that worked,” Ben breathed, collapsing onto the chair next to Hikaru._

_“I don’t know what we would have done next if she kept crying,” Hikaru spoke, his voice full of sleep; something Ben and him didn’t get a lot of ever since Demora was born._

_“I don’t know what I’m going to do when you’re out there and I have to take care of her on my own.” Ben yawned, slouching in his chair._

_“You don’t know what you’re going to do?” Hikaru chuckled, sounding very sleep deprived, “What am I going to do when I have to go to space and leave our little girl behind? We’re supposed to be gone for 5 years, if that’s true, I won’t see her again until she’s six.” He paused to look up at Ben, “That’s a long time, it’s a lot of memories and things that I’m going to miss out on. Things that can’t be expressed through video calls and occasional cargo pickups.”_

_Ben exhaled heavily before hauling himself out of his chair and kneeling in front of Hikaru. “‘Ru, I-we love you and I will look forward to those video calls. I want you to do this, I want you to do what you love and explore space.” He stopped to squeeze Hikaru’s knee lightly, “Yeah, it’s not going to be easy, but nothing’s ever easy. But just think about how happy she’ll be when she gets to see you again. She will be thrilled, to finally meet you in person and remember you.”_

_Hikaru smiled, Ben was always better at cheering people up than he was. He would listen to someone’s story and tell them what he would do, but it lacked the heart and compassion that Ben put into his words. He would joke that Ben should have been a poet or a writer instead of a botanist. To which, Ben would always respond, “But then we never would have met.” He knew that wasn’t true, he knew they would meet in some other way; but he would smile at Ben’s words and hold him close. Ben also knew it wasn’t true, he knew that he and Hikaru would always end up together; no matter where they were, or what lives they were living. He knew he and Hikaru would always find each other._

 

_“Have I ever told you how much I love you?” Hikaru whispered, looking in between Ben and Demora with watery eyes._

_Ben smiled up at him and joked, “You might have mentioned it a couple of times. It might have come up, but I can’t be sure.”_

_Hikaru let out a breathy laugh, “...so dumb.”_

_Which only made Ben laugh more, “Because I recall having this really sappy husband, but I can’t be certain.”_

_“I love you Ben,” Hikaru cried. Ben felt his heart ache in his chest. He got up from his spot on the ground and bent over to kiss his husband. “I love you too, Hikaru,” Ben purred. He pulled back to give Demora a soft kiss on her forehead. She had fallen asleep, her eyelids blocking her dark brown, almost black eyes that Hikaru and Ben both had._

_“You know,” Ben began, “When I start telling her about you and how you travel around in space, bringing peace to everyone, she’s going to think you’re some kind of superhero.”_

_Hikaru shrugged, “Yeah, but I’ll be one lonely, homesick superhero. I won’t get the same kind of connection and relationship with her that you will have with her.”_

_“Yeah, but can you imagine the bragging rights she’ll have at school when she tells her classmates that her father is the main pilot on the USS Enterprise?” Ben teased._

_Hikaru rolled his eyes, “I’m not so sure that’s a good thing, Ben.”_

_“Why not?”_

_Hikaru chuckled lightly, “Let’s not teach our daughter that bragging is a good thing.”_

_“I make no promises...”_

  
When Ben walked into the living room and saw Demora fast asleep in Hikaru’s lap, all he could think was, _“I can’t wait to add someone else to our little family.”_ He joined his husband and his daughter on the couch, smiling about the endless possibilities the future could have for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guess who's back and is going to finish writing this story? Sorry it's been so long, but I have this wonderful idea for a long, multi-chapter, slow-burn, Benkaru story. I'm so excited to get started on it, but I want to finish this story first. I still have no idea how long this story is going to be, and I might have a third story that follows it because I love this story of mine and I don't want it to end. I hope you guys haven't given up on me and are still wiling to read this story. I've got the next few chapters already queued up and I'm excited to share them with all of you. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this story and will continue to keep reading it.


	15. Birthdays Gifts and Old Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While celebrating Demora's birthday, Ben thinks back to the past memories with his family and imagines what's to come in the future.

Ben knew that they had had some incredible birthdays in the past. He and Hikaru would always remember Demora’s third birthday, when she asked for a cake that looked like a rabbit and Hikaru had gotten permission from Kirk to let her tour the USS Constellation. Ben loved Hikaru’s 25th birthday when Jim had given Hikaru the whole day off, so Hikaru could talk with him and Demora all day long. He also loved when Hikaru surprised him with a live broadcast of the Enterprise’s orchestra playing his favourite classical pieces.

But nothing would beat Demora’s next birthday. Because a couple of days ago, Hikaru and Ben had found the best present for Demora.

 

* * *

 

_“I’m home!” Ben hollered as he walked in the door, after a long day at work._

_“Hey, Rice Cakes,” Hikaru murmured as he approached Ben from the living room. Ben rolled his eyes, “Are you ever going to stop calling me that?”_

_“Nope!” Hikaru chirped, giving Ben a soft kiss, “How was work?”_

_Ben sighed lightly, as he moved into the living room to collapse into his favourite lounge chair. “It was so much better. The labs are beautiful, the other botanists are so kind and my lab is incredible.”_

_Hikaru beamed, as he sat in his own lounge chair, “That’s great, I’m so happy for you!” Hikaru waited before adding, “Also, I have some great news!”_

_Ben, who had almost fallen asleep in chair, mumbled, “Really? What’s the good news?” Ben heard Hikaru take a deep breath before gushing out, “Our application went through...we’ve been accepted!”_

_Ben shot up from his chair, “What? Really?” He gawked, his eyes glued on Hikaru. Hikaru gave a quivering smile and a nod in response. Ben immediately felt tears prick his eyes; he covered his mouth with his hand, to quiet his sobs. Ben eventually crawled out of his seat and pulled Hikaru up into a tight embrace. Ben cried into Hikaru’s shoulder as Hikaru cried into his chest._

_“This feels like when we found out we’d be having Dem,” Ben spluttered._

_Hikaru chuckled lightly, “Yeah, yeah it does.”_

_They stayed there for a while before they separated from their embrace. Ben had sat down in Hikaru’s chair and pulled the man down, onto his lap. They were silent for several minutes, before Ben piped up, “Hey ‘Ru?”_

_“Yeah?” Hikaru hummed._

_“Does Dem know yet?” Ben asked._

_“No, not yet.”_

_“Then I have an idea. What if we tell Dem for her birthday, that she’s going to be a sister and she’s going to get to meet her new sibling very soon.”_

_Hikaru turned around to look at Ben, “I think she’d love that.”_

 

* * *

 

Ben paced around the kitchen, waiting for breakfast to finish and for Demora to wake up before she had to go to school.

“Hey Ben,” Hikaru cooed, grabbing Ben by the shoulders, “It’s going to be okay.”

Ben sighed shakily, before mumbling, “Okay.”

“Breathe with me,” He spoke softly, placing Ben’s hand on his stomach. “Ready?” He asked. At Ben’s nod, he started, “In-2-3-4-5-6 and out 2-3-4-5-6.” He repeated this until Ben’s breaths evened out. Hikaru found that this technique worked the best whenever Ben was nervous or his anxiety was getting the best of him. It worked even when Hikaru was on the Enterprise; it was the most effective way to destress both of them, even if they were hundreds of light years away.

“Thank you Hikaru,” Ben mumbled into the floor. Hikaru placed a brief kiss to Ben’s temples, “No problem, I’m here for you,” He murmured.

 

“You going to be okay?” Hikaru asked, 10 minutes later, after breakfast was finished. They were standing outside of Demora’s room, waiting to wish her a happy birthday and tell her the good news.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Ben breathed before slowly walking into Demora’s room. She was still fast asleep, under the covers. Ben turned on her bedside lamp as Hikaru shook her lightly, “Hey, Demi!” He whispered.

“Demi, Dem wake up!” Ben spoke, a light louder. She wiggled in her bed before rubbing her eyes with her hands.

“Hey sweetie,” Ben mumbled, “Happy Birthday!”

“Happy Birthday Demi!”

Demora lit up at them mentioning her birthday; she shot up from the bed and looked at them with wide eyes. “Can I open my presents now?” She asked.

The two men laughed, “Sure, honey, whatever you want.”

They led her into the living room where there was a series of presents set up. She ended up getting a command gold captain’s shirt in her size, from Jim. A build-your-own Yorktown 3D model from Scotty. A book on all known Federation languages from Nyota. A blue dress from Pavel, a small Vulcan robe from Spock and a homemade peach pie from Bones. Her dads had gotten her several plants to add to her collection, along with a small terrarium. Hikaru insisted that they get a set of rollerblades for Demora; but Ben thought this was a terrible idea, giving a 5 year old, wheels on her feet.

“Thank you Papa! Thank you Daddy!” She giggled, giving them each a hug.

“Actually Demi,” Hikaru began, “We have another present for you.”

Her jaw hit the floor. “Really?” She asked.

“Yeah,” Ben answered, “Dem-honey, we... heard from Sweet Gardens the other day, and-”

“-they accepted our application,” Hikaru added.

“Demi, you’re going to be a sister,” Ben finished, holding one of her hands in between his own.

The young girl looked thrilled. “I’m going to sister?!” She practically shouted.

“Yeah, they’re matching us up with a child as we speak and soon you’ll have a new sibling to love and take care of.” Hikaru answered.

“Can you do that Demi? Can you help us take care of your sister or brother?” Ben asked.

“Sister!” She argued, “I’ll be getting a sister and I will teach her everything I know and I will play with her and I will share all my toys with her and we will be best friends.”

Ben and Hikaru laughed, they would have teased, “ _Demi, I’m not sure you get to make that decision.”_ But they couldn’t bring themselves to say that to their daughter. Instead, they picked her up in a warm, tight hug.

Now, all they had to do was wait; wait for a call, or for a social worker to drop by their house and say that they found a child for them.

 

The family ate their breakfast of waffles, which Demora requested for her birthday, before Ben had to take her to school.

“Have a good day at school, sweetie,” Hikaru hummed, giving Demora a quick hug and a kiss on each cheek, that she rubbed off with a shriveled face and a, _“That's gross Daddy...”_

Hikaru sighed, rolling his eyes dramatically. “Just, try not to make the other kids jealous because it’s your birthday.”

“I won’t,” She chirped before skipping down the outside hallway.

“I’ll see you later,” Ben smiled, giving Hikaru a peck on the lips.

“I’m picking Demi up today, right?” He asked.

“Yeah, at noon,” Ben confirmed, stepping out into the hallway, “Don’t be late!”

Hikaru laughed, “I won’t, have fun at work.”

“I’ll try,” Ben answered, jogging to catch up with Demi. He managed to get out a, _“I love you,”_ Before following Demora down the stairs.

Hikaru closed the apartment door and sighed, “I love you too.”

 

* * *

 

Demora had just walked into her school before her friends ambushed her. They all hugged her as they let out a chorus of, “Happy Birthday Demora!”

She smiled brightly as she hugged her friends back, “Thank you!”

“So, what did you get?” Jivvaa asked as they made their way to their classroom.

“A captain’s shirt, a model of Yorktown, a Federation languages book, a blue dress, a Vulcan robe, peach pie, some plants and rollerblades.”

“I could help you learn Vulcan and we can confuse those nerds,” T’Rel joked. Demora still found it weird whenever T’Rel made a joke about something. Demora thought her sense of humour came from her three moms, only one of which was Vulcan.

“We’re not nerds!” Konane defended, “We just do well in school and play by the rules.”

“That’s not true and Konane, you do not play by the rules!” Isyn argued.

“Yeah, you’re the Captain Kirk of our friend group!” Jivvaa added.

Konane shrugged, “I’ve got nothing against being the next Captain Kirk.”

“Not if I can do anything about it!” Demora interjected.

They were interrupted by their teacher calling out, “Everyone take your seats.” The group groaned, but made their way to their tables. Once everyone was seated, Ms. Ruettez spoke up, “Alright class, we have something very special happening today. Does anyone know what it is?”

“Federation Appreciation Day?”

“Rico, the federation does not have an appreciation day.”

“A class trip?” Someone else asked.

“No, not a class trip.” Ms. Ruettez spoke.

“It’s Demora’s birthday!” Konane and Jivvaa cheered.

“Yes it is,” She confirmed, “And as always, we will congratulate her with our ‘happy birthday’ song.”

Demora beamed at this, she never had her class sing to her before. She only ever heard the class sing to her other classmates; for her other birthdays, only her parents would sing to her. 

“ _Happy birthday to you,_

_Happy birthday to you_

_Happy birthday dear Demora_

_Happy birthday to you._ ”

The room broke out into cheers and applause when the song finished, making Demora blush a bright shade of pink. She mumbled a quiet, “Thank you,” Under her breath. A bright smile spreading across her lips; she loved looking over to her friends, seeing them smiling at her. It made her think about her sister, the sister she hadn’t met yet, but would meet very soon. She could imagine playing with her sister in the courtyard or teaching her how to fence behind her parents backs. _“Well, behind Papa's back. Let's be honest...”_ She wondered when she would get to meet her and what she would be like. She gazed at the wall, completely lost in thought.

“Alright, let’s continue where we left off last class.”

If you asked Demora, about what she did at school that day, she couldn’t remember a single thing. All she remembers is the feeling of her heart beating happily in her chest.

 

* * *

 

Ben hummed quietly to himself. It felt like many years had passed since the last time he planted something in his lab. Maybe it was because he was rebuilding what he had lost from his old lab and he was starting from scratch. Or perhaps it was because he didn’t have Demora or Hikaru at his side to plant seeds with. He loved planting in their family’s greenhouse at home. It was something they all had contributed to and loved dearly.

_“Ben?” Hikaru called from outside of the greenhouse._

_“Yeah?” Ben answered, kneeling down in the dirt._

_“Have you planted the peas and beets yet?”_

_“I’m working on the beets,” Ben replied._

_“Peas!” Demora added, smiling brightly._

_“And you’re doing a marvelous job, Demi,” Ben murmured as he kissed her cheek. Demora was struggling with understanding how gardening worked. Which made sense, considering she was just barely a year old, but Ben encouraged her to keep going, helping her through the various steps when he could._

_“Okay, well I’m going to look after my orchids, before they shrivel up outside.” Hikaru spoke, walking in with two potted orchids._

_“Or-kid?” Demora asked innocently, stumbling over her words._

_“It’s a type of flower that’s very difficult to care for,” Hikaru answered as Demora stumbled over to Hikaru on her two feet._

_“Oooo,” She gasped, “Pretty!”_

_Hikaru and Ben both chuckled. “Yes, they’re very pretty,” Hikaru answered as he picked up Demora and set her down on the table with his orchids._

_“Help!” She chirped, bouncing her legs on the table. Hikaru couldn’t resist her and smiled as he guided her through the challenging process of caring for orchids. He kept it simple, so Demora could follow along easily. Or at least that’s what he hoped he was doing._

_Ben glanced over to see Demora watering one of the orchids, while Hikaru held the leaves back, so they didn’t get wet. He smiled down at his beets that he finished planting. He walked over to his family and gave them each a kiss on their cheeks. Demora smiled when he kissed her and Hikaru hummed and leaned into Ben’s kiss. There was nothing he loved more than spending time with his family. They meant the world to them and he loved them more than words could describe. So instead, he wrapped his arms around them and hoped that the smile on his face and the tears in his eyes, told them just how much he loved them._

 

* * *

Ben always hoped that Demora would take an interest in botany, even if it wasn’t her main goal in life. He loved the time he spent with Demora in their greenhouse or on the balcony. He loved helping her dig holes into the dirt, plant the seeds and cover them up again. He would never forget how she would light up whenever she saw a green stem poking out of the dark soil.

_“Papa, Papa! Look!” She giggled, holding up a flower pot. Inside the pot was the tiniest green plant, just barely sticking out of the soil._

_“Great job Demi!” Ben beamed, while ruffling her hair slightly, “I told you, you could do it!”_

_“One day I’ll become a botanist and a pilot!” She chirped, as she watered the small plant carefully._

_Ben chuckled quietly, “I believe in you Demi, I know you can do that.” He leaned over to kiss her head softly. “I love you sweetheart,” He murmured into her hair._

_“I love you too, Papa.”_

Ben sat down in his desk chair heavily, his mind flooded with memories of his family. He loved them so much and he loved when they could be together. He dreamed of the days when Hikaru would come home in the middle of a mission; or the future when Hikaru would retire and stay at home with him.

But for now, he thought about returning home to him after work. He thought about the agency’s call, the social worker showing up at their door to tell them they have a baby for them. That they will bring another child into their lives. He imagined Demora and their second child running around the courtyard together, them staying up past their bedtimes to talk and play games together.

He sat at his desk and daydreamed about their future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, I've been really inconsistent with my updates. Sorry about that, hopefully my lovely readers are still here and aren't too mad at me. Anyways, I've got some good news and some bad news. I'm going to be ending this story in a few chapters, in order to start writing a new Benkaru AU story that I've been working on for a few weeks. But, here's the good news, I will be making a third part to this story that will immediately follow the events of this story. I hope that you guys will continue to read this story and it's trilogy when it comes out; as well as the new AU story I've got planned. 
> 
> If you have any questions, please let me know, I'd love to hear them. And please, let me know what you thought of this chapter. I hoped you enjoyed it and I hope you will continue to read my stories. I love all of you, thank you so much for reading this far!!


	16. Knitted Sweaters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demora talks to her friends about her new sister while Ben starts his first day at his new job.

Demora was sitting outside of the school with Konane and Jivvaa, waiting for their parents to pick them up. T’Rel and Isyn had already been picked up by their parents and Demora waited anxiously for Hikaru to come get her.

“Demi?” Konane asked softly.

Demora hummed in response.

“Are you okay?” He asked, “You were daydreaming all morning.”

“Yeah, what’s on your mind?” Jivvaa cooed.

“Well I was thinking about what good friends you are...” Demora began, “But then I started thinking about my little sister.”

“Sister?!” Konane almost screamed, “What sister?”

“Well, my dads are thinking about adopting another child.” She answered simply.

Konane and Jivvaa smiled brightly, “Wow, that’s incredible Demi!” Jivva replied, giving her a tight hug.

“I can’t wait to meet her,” Konane added, joining in on their hug.

“Have you met her yet?” Jivvaa asked once she broke out of their hug.

“No, not yet. But we will get a call when they find her.” Demora shrieked excitedly.

“Well, I hope they find her soon.” Konane murmured.

“I have to go guys, my mom’s here,” Jivvaa moaned, getting up from the ground to run over to her mother. “Good luck with your sister Demi!” She called over her shoulder.

“So, what do you think you sister’s going to be like?” Konane asked, turning towards Demora. She thought for a moment before answering, “She’ll be younger and shorter with brown hair and brown eyes. She’ll be really sweet and we’ll get along really well.”

Konane’s eyebrows shot up, “How do you know all of this?”

Demora shrugged. “Instinct,” She answered simply.

 

The two were interrupted when Hikaru jogged over to them, “Hey Demi… who’s your friend?” He asked.

“Daddy, this is Konane, he’s from earth too!” She happily explained, “Konane, this is my space dad, he’s the one that fought off the Romulans on Vulcan.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Konane,” Hikaru greeted, giving a polite nod to the boy.

“I’ve heard so much about you!” Konane gasped, “Is it true that you saved Yorktown from being destroyed?”

“Well, it wasn’t just me. But I did contribute to saving Yorktown.” Hikaru answered.

“Demi, your dads are so much cooler than my parents.” Konane complained.

“I’m sure your parents are just as cool as my husband and me,” Hikaru countered, giving a soft smile to Konane.

“Daddy, can we go home now?” Demora asked, tugging at Hikaru’s sleeve.

“Sure, but say goodbye to Konane, okay?” He answered.

“Bye Konane,” Demora called as she waved goodbye to him.

“Goodbye Demi,” He called, “Good luck with your sister!”

 

“So you told your friends that we’re getting you a sister?” Hikaru asked, jokingly, once he and Demora had arrived at home and were quietly sitting on the balcony.

“Well, only Konane and Jivvaa,” She replied, “Isyn and T’Rel left before I could tell them.”

Hikaru nodded. It was silent until he uttered a, “Are you excited?”

“Yes… no… I don’t know,” She mumbled.

Hikaru’s face changed from thrilled to concerned. “Why not? You sounded so happy before, when we told you that we got accepted.”

“I am, but… what if she doesn’t like me?” She spoke, sounding worried.

“Oh Dem-honey,” Hikaru cooed as he pulled her into his lap, “She’s going to love you.”

“How do you know that?” She sniffed.

“Because everyone loves you, Demi,” Hikaru answered, brushing her hair out of her eyes, “And I’m a dad, I know these things.”

Demora’s eyebrows furrowed, “Really?”

“Absolutely.” Hikaru smiled, pulling her into a tight hug, “She’s going to love you.”

“When do you think we’ll get to meet her?”

“I’m not sure,” Hikaru answered, while braiding her hair. “Hopefully it will be soon.”

“How old do you think she is?”

“I will guess about two. How old do you think she is?”

“I think she’s three.”

“Do you think she’s quiet and calm or loud and energetic?”

“Energetic!” Demora shouted, “Like me!”

Hikaru laughed, “What about… her birthday?”

Demora hummed, “December 23rd.”

“I was going to go with January 8th.”

“Favourite food?” Demora asked.

“Stir Fry. What’s the most important thing to her?”

“Kindness and family.” Demora smiled.

“Aww, Demi,” Hikaru cooed as he pulled Demora against his chest. “That’s so sweet.”

“I want to meet her,” She murmured.

“I want to meet her too.”

 

* * *

 

Ben’s first day at his new job couldn’t have been better. He loved his new lab, it was better in both build and size. His new co-workers were friendly and welcoming. They had already asked him about his home life, family, childhood and schooling by the time lunch had rolled around. When the day had ended, he was almost disappointed, he didn’t want to leave, he wanted to bond more with his new lab partners. He wanted to ask John about his fiancee, he wanted to hear the end of Eva’s story from her latest vacation and he wished that Holly would end it with her troublesome boyfriend. But he knew he had two beautiful people, waiting at home for him, with a homecooked meal. The thought of that was enough to relax and start locking up his lab.

“Alright, why don’t we call this a day and head home?” Ben mumbled himself as he stood up from his chair, grabbed his bag and walked out the door.

“Oh Ben, you headed out for the night?” Nevena, a fellow xenobotanist, Ben had been chatting with at lunch, asked. If Ben was correct, her lab was right across from his own lab.

“Yeah, I finished all my reports on the newest shipments and I should get home to my family, before they start to worry.”

“Oh yeah, I keep forgetting that Hikaru works on the Enterprise. So he’s not here very often, is it hard?” She asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I know it probably sounds stupid, but is it difficult watching him leave while you stay here with Demora?”

Ben sighed, “Yeah, at times it’s frustrating and stressful and depressing. But I can’t tell him to stay, he loves the stars and the thrill of adventure, the unknown. I know one day, after he captains his own ship, he’ll come home and he’ll stay home. That’s will be when him and me can spend our time with our kids and grandchildren; happily, in retirement.”

“So, you’re okay?” She questioned.

“Yeah, don’t worry about me. I’ve never felt better.” He smiled.

“Okay, I’ll let you go. I’ve got a few things to finish before I can leave.” She winced slightly.

“Don’t work yourself too hard okay?” Ben replied sincerely, “You can always finish the rest of your work tomorrow.”

“It’s only a few things, it won’t take me very long to finish.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Nevena.” Ben called as he walked out of the labs.

“Tell your family I said hi.”

Ben chuckled, “I will.”

 

* * *

 

Ben collapsed against the door once he got home. He heard Hikaru call, _“Ben? Is that you?”_  He would have laughed if he wasn’t so exhausted, “Who else would it be?” He joked.

“I don’t know,” Hikaru replied, stepping out into the hallway, “Some crazy time travelling psycho who’s come here to kill us?”

Ben lazily held a finger to his lips and shushed Hikaru, “Don’t traumatize our daughter… she’s already been through enough.”

Hikaru kneeled down in front of Ben and gave him a soft kiss. “Sorry,” He whispered, “She’s helping the Sh'rhaohroks with knitting a blanket for their new great grandchild.”

“Really?” Ben asked.

“Yeah, they told her they would give her 20 credits if she made it for them. I think it was because they were too busy or they were struggling with getting the shape right. I’m not too sure...” He trailed off.

“Well good for her, it will give her something to do.”

Hikaru rolled his eyes, “I still can’t believe you taught our daughter how knit.”

“Hey!” Ben shouted, lightly shoving Hikaru’s arm, “It’s a good skill to have and it pays off.”

“In what way?” Hikaru questioned.

“You can make super cute things for people and they love them. Like that sweater I made for you during the holidays.”

 

* * *

 

_“...so that’s when I-” Ben paused in the middle of his story when he felt Hikaru shiver next to him. “Hikaru?” He asked._

_“Yeah?”_

_“Are you… are you cold?” Ben questioned, pulling Hikaru closer to him._

_Hikaru chuckled lightly, “Yeah, a little bit. But it’s nothing don’t worry about it!”_

_Ben scoffed, as he let go of Hikaru and pulled off his wool sweater he got when he visited some relatives in New Jersey. He stopped to pull the sweater over Hikaru’s head._

_“Thanks, but won’t you be cold now?” Hikaru asked as he put his arms into the sleeves._

_Ben laughed, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Plus that sweater looks so much better on you than it does on me.” Ben answered, wrapping an arm around Hikaru’s back. He kissed the side of Hikaru’s head lightly, pausing to gently suck on his neck._

_“Ben!” Hikaru gasped, “We’re in public.”_

_“Well, maybe we’ll have to do something about that...”_

 

* * *

 

_Ben looked up from his knitting to see his boyfriend leaning against the frame of Ben’s dorm room door._

_“Hey Ru!” Ben greeted, “How’s my favourite pilot?”_

_The man laughed, “I’m great, just returning your sweater.”_

_“I told you to keep it,” Ben answered, turning back to his knitting._

_“Since when do you knit?” Hikaru asked, sitting next to Ben on the bed before setting Ben’s sweater on his own lap. He almost couldn’t believe that they had been dating for a whole year and were approaching their second year midterms. It just seemed so surreal._

_“My mom got me into it when I was little and I never stopped.”_

_“So, what are you making?” Hikaru asked, looking down at the woven wool._

_“A scarf, for my grandmother. The heater in her apartment is broken and she has to wear her jacket at all times to keep from freezing. So I thought I’d make her a little something that would keep her warm and make her happy.” Ben answered, smiling down at his creation._

_“Is it done?” Hikaru asked, curious, “It looks done.”_

_Ben hummed, “I don’t know. Here-” Ben spoke handing Hikaru the scarf, “Try it on.”_

_Hikaru shrugged and wrapped the scarf twice around his neck before adjusting it._

_“Well, what do you think?” Hikaru asked._

_“I think I’ll have to make you a little something because I love how that looks on you.” Ben replied, tugging on the ends of the scarf lightly._

 

* * *

 

_Two weeks later, Ben had finished his project for Hikaru. Smiling to himself, he placed his work in a large shiny box and walked out of his room and towards Hikaru’s dorm room. He knocked three times on the door and waited for Hikaru to answer._

_“Coming, I’ll be right there,” Hikaru hollered from inside the room._

_The door swung open and Ben’s heart swelled. Hikaru was wearing his New Jersey sweater and from Ben’s perspective, it looked like Hikaru wasn’t wearing any pants. Ben lended him that sweater last month when he was complaining about being too cold._

_Ben blushed as he mumbled a, “This is for you,” As he handed the box over to Hikaru. Hikaru, confused, took the box and held it in his hands. His was breathless when he took the item out of the box._

_“A sweater?” Hikaru asked, examining the dark blue sweater with a starfleet insignia stitched into it._

_Ben rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah, you always seem to be cold and I told you I would knit something for you. So… do you like it?”_

_Hikaru laughed as he pulled off Ben’s New Jersey sweater and put on the new knitted sweater. “I  love it,” He answered, tugging at the bottom of the sweater._

_“Really?” Ben asked, “It’s not too corny?”_

_Hikaru leaned up on his toes to give Ben a kiss. “It’s wonderful,” He replied, wrapping his arms around Ben’s neck._

_“Thank you Ben.” He whispered._

 

* * *

 

“I still have that sweater,” Hikaru hummed. The two of them were sitting at the dining room table, sipping at the tea Hikaru made. “Both of them actually, if you count your Jersey one that you gave me.”

“You should wear it more often,” Ben suggested, “It’s been forever since I saw you wear it last. The knitted one, that is.”

“I wore it on the Enterprise after my shifts,” Hikaru answered, “It made me feel less homesick.”

Ben smiled and grabbed Hikaru’s hand from where it rested on the table. He gave his hand a quick kiss before whispering, “It reminded me of home.”

Hikaru nodded, “Yeah, but the crew was relentless about it.”

Ben’s eyebrows furrowed, “What do you mean?”

“When they found out that my husband, my sappy husband, knit me a sweater, they wouldn’t stop teasing me about it. It wasn’t anything bad, they mostly made kissing noises at me and called me ‘lover boy’ when I was working.”

“Pfft,” Ben snickered, “Do you have any idea why?”

“I think they were happy for me, that I had a family back home, that made and sent me heartwarming gifts.”

Ben shrugged, taking another sip of his tea, “Maybe, since they don’t have families of their own, they latch onto the closest family they can. Which could explain why the crew loves Demi so much. They don’t have children of their own, so they treat her as if she’s their child.”

“Wow,” Hikaru breathed, “That actually makes a lot of sense.”

Ben stood up from his chair, “Either that or I’m making up a lot of bullshit.”

Hikaru laughed, almost choking on his tea. “That’s more likely.”

“Hey!” Ben let out, swatting Hikaru’s thigh, somewhat playfully, “Don’t insult my philosophical ideas!”

Hikaru rubbed his leg as he stood up, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt your philosophical side,” He teased. He stole a kiss before darting into the kitchen.

Ben rolled his eyes as he followed his husband into the kitchen, “You’re ridiculous and dumb and I-”

He was cut off as Hikaru launched himself at Ben, locking their lips together.

“And attractive?” Hikaru added, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes… and that,” Ben answered before kissing his husband again.

 

Several minutes later, Hikaru spoke up, “Why don’t we go check on Demi and see how she’s doing?”

Ben mumbled his agreement and the two left in the direction of their neighbors. They knocked twice on their door and waited until Ms. Sh'rhaohrok opened the door.

“Ah! Hikaru! Ben!” She greeted happily, “Come in, come in! Demora is just in the living room, she is almost finished our project for her.” She led them into the living room and the two men sat next to their daughter; who was very focused on her row of stitches.

“Hey Demi,” Hikaru spoke, leaning over her shoulder to admire her knitting.

“Hey Daddy,” She mumbled back, too zoned in on her work to pay much attention to the others in the room.

The two men waited patiently for Demora to finish her knitting, watching as she quickly wound the wool around her needles and into the small blanket. When she finally did finish, she held it out in front of her and announced, “Done!”

Hikaru and Ben gave one final look at her finished piece.

“It looks great sweetie,” Hikaru hummed, kissing her cheek.

“Well done… you should make a larger one for your father,” Ben joked, giving Demora a kiss on her other cheek.

“Alright Demora, I would say you’ve earned this.” Ms. Sh'rhaohrok answered as she gave Demora her 20 credits.

“Thank you, Ms. Sh'rhaohrok! I will put it to good use!” Demora cheered, handing over the blanket to the woman, before turning to her dads. “Can we go home now?” She yawned, “‘m tired.”

Hikaru and Ben laughed, “Sure thing, honey.” They helped her to her feet and led her out the door with a, “Say goodbye to the Sh'rhaohroks.”

“Goodbye Ms. Sh'rhaohrok! Goodbye Mr. Sh'rhaohrok,” She mumbled.

“Goodbye Demora!” Mr. Sh'rhaohrok called.

“Get some rest, you worked really hard today.” Ms. Sh'rhaohrok added.

  
Ben ended up carrying Demora back to their apartment. She was fast asleep in his arms by the time he set her down on her bed. He gave her forehead a quick kiss and murmured, “Sweet dreams, Demi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry it's been a while. I've been caught up at work and all my spare time has been put towards my new Benkaru AU. I hope some of you are still reading this story and haven't given up on me. *laughs awkwardly* My new AU is going really well and if you would like to hear more about it you can either leave a comment below or you can talk to me on [tumblr](http://gayspacepilots.tumblr.com/). 
> 
> Anyways, there's only 2 more chapters left in this story. But after I'm done my new AU, which won't be for a while, I'll make a third and final part to this story. One that will probably be a lot shorter, and that will finish off my story.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sulu family get a visit from a surprise guest, who brings very good news to the family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey again guys! My updates have been so infrequent that I often wonder if I still have people raeding my stories. But the hit count is still going up. So thank you to those of you who are sticking through this with me. I've done so much work on my new story that I didn't even realize that almost a month had passed since I last uploaded. I hope some of my lovely readers are still out there and are still willing to read my story. Anyway, here's the second last chapter. Only one more to go before I stop writing this storyline for while. Enjoy!

Demora sat up in her bed, rubbing at her eyes with one hand and stifling a yawn with the other. She glanced over to the chronometer on her bedside table. It read 5:45.

 _“Almost time for dinner,”_ She thought as she rolled out from under her covers and left her room.

She winced at the bright lights in the apartment, her eyes still sore from sleeping. “Good evening Demi-honey,” Ben greeted with a smile, from the kitchen. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah,” She mumbled, plopping into her usual chair. “How long was I asleep for?”

“A little less than 30 minutes,” Ben answered, stirring two pans at once.

“What’s for dinner?” She asked, placing her arms flat on the table and resting her head on top of them.

“A vegetable and tofu stir fry with bamboo rice,” He replied while eating a forkful of rice.

“Oooo! I love tofu!” She hummed, producing a very tired smile, before getting up and sitting next to Hikaru couch. But before she could get comfy, there was a knock at the door. Ben, whom had his has full, hollered if someone else could answer the door. Demora, suddenly bursting with energy, like kid with a sugar rush, jumped up and hollered, “I’ll get it!”

Hikaru and Ben laughed loudly, as they heard Demora run down the hallway, at full speed, towards the door.

Reaching up, she grabbed the door handle and turned it. She pulled the door open to see a tall woman with long black hair and a short purple dress.

She looked down at Demora and spoke with a soft, smooth voice, “Um, hi! I’m Tahira Darzi, I’m looking for Hikaru and Ben Sulu.”

Ben wiped his hands on his apron and exited the kitchen, to see who was at the door.

“Ah!” Tahira exclaimed, “You must be Mr. Sulu, I’m Tahira Darzi,” She spoke, offering Ben her hand. Ben shook it firmly.

“I’m sorry for intruding at this hour, especially since it’s so close to dinner time. Anyways, I’m a social worker from Sweet Garden Adoptions and I’m here to talk to you and your family about your application and help you through the rest of the adoption process.”

Ben’s eyes shot open, _“Holy shit… this is happening, this is really happening. Oh my god...”_ He thought to himself; desperately trying to slow down his heart, which was throbbing painfully in his chest.

“Hikaru!” Ben called, swallowing the lump in his throat, “Get over here!”

“This is Tahira, from Sweet Garden Adoptions.” He spoke once Hikaru had joined them at the door.

“It’s great to meet you, come in please,” Hikaru spoke, shaking her hand and guiding her into the living room.

 

Once they were seated, Hikaru spoke again, “I thought we were going to get a call from the agency first.”

“Usually, yes, the agency would have called you.” She chuckled, nervously, “I was told someone was going to call you yesterday, but for whatever reason that didn’t happen. So, I apologize for that.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ben chirped, wrapping his arms around Demora, who was sitting on his lap.

“Anyways, I have some great news for all of you,” She smiled, “We may have a baby for you.”

Ben felt Demora bounce excitedly in his lap. He looked over to Hikaru, who sitting beside the two of them. His husband looked just as nervous and thrilled as he did.

“Really?” Ben breathed,.

She nodded as handed them a PADD, with a profile loaded on it, “Her name is Aika.”

Hikaru leaned over Ben’s shoulder to look at the PADD. Displayed on the top of the screen was the words, “Aika Alonto.” There was a small profile picture of a baby girl, who couldn’t be older than 12 months. She had wispy, brown hair and dark brown eyes, “Hey, just like you predicted Demi, brown eyes and brown hair,” Hikaru whispered, pointing at the picture. The rest of the profile had several facts about her; her birthday was December 31st, she was 7 months old and she only knew how to crawl.

“But it looks like we were both wrong about her age...” Hikaru murmured, unable to turn his gaze from Aika’s picture. He hadn’t even met her, but he already felt so attached to her, and going by the silence from his family, he knew they felt the same way.

Tahira eventually drew their attention away from the PADD, “She’s very quiet, except she cries more than most kids her age. We think it’s because she lost her parents and her brother in a klingon attack.”

 _“Wow, me and her both survived a Klingon attack.”_ Hikaru thought to himself.

“We thought that you might sympathize with her, Hikaru. Because you also survived a klingon attack.”

Hikaru was startled, “You know about that?”

“Well, it’s mandatory that we check the backgrounds of our applicants. It’s to ensure the children will go into a good family and safe home.”

Hikaru hummed, “Yeah, that makes sense.”

“So what do you think Demi?” Ben asked, squeezing her hand.

“I like her!” She beamed, her eyes glued to the PADD, “When can we meet her?”

“I can arrange a meeting as early as tomorrow. But of course it depends on your schedules.”

Demora lit up, “Daddy! Papa! Can we meet her tomorrow? I wanna meet her! Let’s go meet her,” She babbled, quickly.

Ben and Hikaru laughed and shared a look.

“We could go tomorrow.” Hikaru declared.

Ben shrugged, “I could take the day off tomorrow and we could go in the morning.”

“And we could take Demi out of school,” Hikaru finished.

They both turned back to Tahira. “Tomorrow morning works,” They spoke together.

She smiled and laughed lightly, “Okay! Tomorrow it is. Does… 10:00 work?”

“Demi, does 10:00 work with you?” Hikaru asked, facing their daughter.

“Will you be up by then?” Ben joked, bouncing on her on his knee.

“I’ll be up by 6:00, waiting for her!” She announced, excitedly.

“You will not be up at 6:00, that’s far too early for you.” Ben murmured, kissing her temples. “If you really want to, you can get up at 7:00.”

“Okay!” She squealed, squirming in her place, “Seven it is!”

“But no earlier than that!” Ben added.

“Aye, aye, Papa,” She mock-saluted.

“Well, if you don’t have any questions, I’ll let you eat your dinner and I will see you all at 10:00 tomorrow morning.” Tahira smiled, before standing up from her chair.

“Thank you so much,” Hikaru cried, shaking her hand again.

“You have no idea what this means to our family,” Ben sighed, shaking her hand softly.

“You’re welcome,” She answered, “I’m so happy to help you out. You will love her, she’s very sweet and you’ll get along with her easily.”

 

Once Tahira left, the family shared a long, emotional hug. They cried happily into each other’s arms. Tomorrow, there was a chance that they would meet their newest family member. They were all so caught up in the moment, they entirely forgot that the dinner Ben made, was still on the stovetop. When they let go of one another, they remembered the dinner and Hikaru ran to go save it. It was a little bit on the charred side, but they made it work.

They ate their dinner quietly, while their minds raced at warp speed. Demora thinking, _“I’m getting a sister, a baby sister,”_ Over and over again; while Hikaru and Ben thought, _“We’re having another baby.”_

They were thrilled and they couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come.

 

* * *

 

Ben couldn’t sleep, he just couldn’t. He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling as the minutes slowly went by. He felt Hikaru shift from one side to the other and back again. Hikaru flipped over one more time before Ben spoke, “Can’t sleep?”

“No,” He muttered.

“Is it because of Aika?” Ben asked.

“Yeah,” He answered, turning over to face Ben. “Is that why you’re still up?”

“Yeah,” Ben breathed.

“Like I feel like I love her already and I’m so nervous. What if it doesn’t go well?”

Ben sighed as he pulled his husband towards him, wrapping his arms tightly around Hikaru. “Everything will be fine, starlight. She’s going to love us.”

“How can you be so sure?” Hikaru cried, clutching onto one of Ben’s arms.

“I can’t, but that doesn’t mean we should give up hope,” Ben soothed, burying his nose into Hikaru’s soft, silky hair.

“Yeah I know, I know.” Hikaru took several deep breaths before continuing, “How do you think Demi is holding up?”

“She’s probably asleep, but we could check on her.” Ben suggested.

“Can we do that?” Hikaru asked.

Ben gave a small smile before pulling Hikaru off of the bed and walking with him to Demora’s room. They opened the door quietly and tiptoed silently inside.

“Daddy? Papa?” Demora asked, looking up at her parents. She was sitting on her bed, with her Enterprise plushie clasped in her arms. “I’m sorry,” She sobbed, a few stray tears falling down her face. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Oh Demi-sweetheart,” Hikaru cooed, rushing to her side and pulling her into his lap. He gently pulled her hair behind her shoulders and kissed the top of her head softly, mumbling little reassurances to her.

“It’s okay, we can’t sleep either,” Ben answered, sitting in front of them and brought them into a large group hug.

“I just can’t stop thinking about her,” Demora mumbled, pressing her face against Ben’s chest. Ben hugged her and kissed the top of her head several times, while Hikaru rubbed her back softly. “I’m excited but my tummy feels weird and I don’t know why.” She cried, pulling back to rub at her stomach.

“We’re having the exact same problem.” Hikaru whispered quietly.

“Really?” She sniffed, looking down at her plushie, which had been tossed to the side upon Hikaru and Ben’s entrance.

“Yeah, but it’s normal,” Ben cooed, wiping away their daughter’s tears. “How about we stay here with you and we can talk about it.”

“I don’t really feel like talking.” She muttered quietly, “Can you sing me a song instead? Your songs always make me feel better.” She asked, looking up at Ben with red eyes and a soiled face.

It broke Ben’s heart whenever he saw Demora reduced to tears. He loved her dearly. He didn't want her to be upset when something wonderful was happening for their little family. Ben produced a sad smile and kissed his daughter’s forehead as he got up from the bed. He disappeared for several minutes. He was gone for so long that Hikaru considered going to find him. Just as Hikaru was shuffling to get off the bed, Ben returned, carrying a guitar with one hand and a keyboard, that was tucked under his other arm. “Well, none of us are probably going to get sleep, so how about we make this more interesting?” He asked, handing Hikaru the keyboard as he sat down next to Demi.

“What song are we doing?” Hikaru asked back, turning on the keyboard and adjusting the volume. He tested a few chords to check the double check the settings on the instrument.

Ben ignored Hikaru as he turned to Demora, “Demi, we’re going to need your help with this. Can you grab your maracas?”

“Sure!” She smiled, practically leaping off her bed and rummaged through her closet, eventually pulling out a pair of matching maracas. “I’m ready!” She giggled, sitting down, in between her dads.

“And I’m going to need you to ready your voice.” Ben smiled, once he finished tuning the final string on his guitar. “Can you do that Demi?”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely!”

“Ready, follow my lead,” Ben instructed, looking at Hikaru and Demora before he started strumming. Hikaru recognized the song immediately, letting out a soft gasp and a bright smile.

_“Put your dreams away for now_

_I won't see you for some time_

_I am lost in my mind_

_I get lost in my mind_

_Momma once told me_

_You're already home where you feel love_

_I am lost in my mind_

_I get lost in my mind.”_

Demora squealed happily once she realized which song her father was singing. She promptly joined him in singing the rest of the song.

 

_“Oh oh oh oh_

_Oh oh_

_Oh oh oh oh_

_Oh my brother_

_Your wisdom is all that I need_

_Oh my brother_

_Don't you worry 'bout me,”_

Hikaru relished in the beautiful harmony that his husband and daughter made together. He was so caught up in their singing that he almost missed his piano entrance.

 

“ _Don't you worry_

_Don't you worry, don't worry about me,”_

Demora smiled as she shook her maracas.

 

_“Oh oh oh oh_

_Oh oh_

_Oh oh oh oh,”_

“Come on Daddy!” Demora giggled, “Join us!”

Hikaru smiled, laughing happily as he joined his family’s elegant harmony.

 

_“How's that bricklayin' coming_

_How's your engine running_

_Is that bridge getting built_

_Are your hands getting filled_

_Won't you tell me my brother_

_'Cause there are stars up above_

_We can start moving forward,”_

They all smiled brightly at each other, letting out silent laughs in between the verses. By this point, Demora was dancing around the room. The young girl was laughing uncontrollably and shaking her maracas above her head. Her lyrics coming out breathy and silent, due to the warm laughter that was flowing from her. Ben burst out laughing while he got up and danced around her in circles, still playing his guitar.

 

_“How's that bricklayin' coming_

_How's your engine running_

_Is that bridge getting built_

_Are your hands getting filled,”_

Hikaru looked up to see his family dancing around the room. He beamed brightly, feeling like the sun was beating down on his back and spilling into the room; despite it being midnight and that Yorktown was galaxies away from any planetary sun. He desperately wished he could join them, join his family in their dancing, but he would have to stop playing in order to do that. They looked so at peace, so happy, without a care in the world. Because they had been given the best day ever and that day was tomorrow. It made him to happy to think that in a few weeks, they might have a new person in their family. A new Sulu.

 _“Aika Sulu.”_ Hikaru thought, feeling very giddy all of the sudden. _“Aika Sulu. That sounds beautiful.”_

_“Won't you tell me my brother_

_'Cause there are stars up above_

_We can start moving forward,”_

Luckily, Hikaru didn’t have to sit on the bed, by himself, for much longer. Demi rushed to his side and dragged Hikaru to his feet. The man laughed wholeheartedly as he grabbed Demora’s hands and danced with her. He twirled and spun her around, as the two of them swayed to the sound of Ben’s guitar. The family all sang loudly as the next verse began.

_“Lost in my mind_

_Lost in my mind_

_Oh I get lost in my mind_

_Lost, I get lost, I get lost in my mind_

_Lost in my mind_

_Yes I get lost in my mind_

_Lost, I get lost, I get lost_

 

_Oh I get lost_

_Oh I get...”_

The family’s laughs boomed off the walls, Ben hoped that their neighbors weren’t woken up by their loud singing in the middle of the night. But as Hikaru and Demora jumped at him, embracing him tightly, he couldn’t be bothered to care. All that mattered was that they were together and they were so overjoyed and thrilled, they couldn’t contain their excitement. He pulled his family against them, Hikaru and him holding Demora closely in their arms, Hikaru’s forehead was pressed against Demora’s forehead and Ben’s nose was tucked in her hair.

“I love her,” Demora murmured, smiling softly.

Hikaru and Ben chuckled, “We love her too.”

“I want her to be my sister.” She hummed.

“She is your sister,” Hikaru corrected softly.

Demora beamed as she tucked her face into Hikaru’s neck.

“She’s going to love you sweetie,” Ben cooed into her hair. He could feel her relax in their arms, and he watched her smile fade slightly as she fell asleep in between them. The two men shared a look, two goofy looking smiles and a series of giggles before they lifted their daughter up and into their bed, carefully, as to not wake the sleeping girl.

The next morning, none of them could remember how or when they fell asleep. But when they remembered their song yesterday, they smiled to each other and felt at ease. They were eager to add another person to their ensemble.

They just hoped that Aika was that person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song that they sing in this chapter is [Lost in My Mind](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjoA4nYBD5U%20) by The Head and The Heart. It's one of my favourite songs and I had a great time writing it into my story.


	18. A Family of Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru, Ben and Demora head to the Sweet Gardens Adoption Facilty to meet a special someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy fuck, I've been gone for a long time. I've officially become one of those writers, who can never stick to one story and finish it. I'm sending a big thank you to any of you that have stuck through me all this time, from the very beginning until now. It's been a wild ride and I've been meaning to post this chapter for months. My editor and I never have coordinating days off, and I finally decided to just upload this chapter to give me, and you guys, some closure.  
> I'm probably still going to write a third part to this, but I've got two other, big stories planned before I get to that. So, without ado, here's the last and final chapter of Shore Leave.

Demora shot out of bed with a huge smile on her face. From an outsider's perspective, one might think that it was Christmas morning, going by the girl’s reaction. She turned, looking at the chronometer, it read 06:21. Frowning slightly, and glaring at the clock, she quietly slide off the bed, as to not wake her sleeping dads, she tiptoed out of the room.

She knew she wasn’t supposed to be up yet, Ben had told her she wasn’t allowed to be up before 07:00 and it was just barely lit outside. Their two-bedroom apartment was still bathed in darkness from the lack of outside light.

However, artificial light poured into the kitchen as Demora opened the fridge and grabbed the carton of milk from the first shelf. She turn around and closed the door with her foot, before walking into the dining room. She set down the milk on the table as she pulled a chair, with her, into the kitchen. It produced a loud screeching sound that resembled nails on a chalkboard. She winced, promptly letting go of the chair and covered her ears with her hands. The sound was horrible and she could only hope that she hadn’t woken up her dads with that awful racket. After some time had passed, she uncovered her ears and cracked her eyes open.

 _“Okay, no footsteps...”_ She thought to herself, looking around, to see if her dads were coming out of their room to scold her for being up so early. _“... And no parents… yet.”_

After a few more moments of silence, she decided that they hadn’t woken up yet.

“Okay Demi,” She spoke aloud, “Be quieter, we don’t want to wake them up.” Picking up the chair, she struggled to lift it across the kitchen.

“I’ll have to do it if I want to a Starfleet Officer,” She croaked, her arms growing heavier and heavier with each step she took. “Come on!” She muttered.

“Just… a little… bit… further,” She articulated with every step, until she made it to the cereal cupboard. She carefully set the chair down, letting out a huge gust of air as she climbed up onto the chair and opened the cupboard, looking for her favourite cereal, Moomoo Puffs.

 _“Ah! There you are!”_ She smiled, grabbing the box with the adorable cartoon cow on the front and jumping off her chair. She skipped back to the living room, setting the box down and spinning on her heel to return the chair and grab a bowl and spoon from the kitchen. She poured herself a large portion of cereal and an equally large portion of milk into her bowl.

Smiling from ear to ear, she dug her spoon in, chewing happily on the cow shaped cereal pieces.

 

Ben’s mental alarm clock went off earlier than usual, waking him up at 06:47, instead of his usual 07:00, for school days when Demi’s first class started 08:30. Opening his eyes, he stared tiredly at the ceiling for several minutes, debating whether he should get up or catch a few more minutes of sleep before he had to wake Demi up for school.

As he looked at the blank, white ceiling, he was stuck by a memory from last night. Where he and his family sung, _Lost in My Mind_ , into the dead of night because they couldn’t sleep because of-

 _“-something,”_ Ben muttered in his head, _“Why couldn’t we sleep?”_

And like a 21st century rocket, Ben launched himself out of the covers. His eyes wide open, his heart racing and his brain going haywire. He was so panicked that he didn’t notice Hikaru had woken up from Ben’s outburst; due to half their duvet landing on Hikaru’s face, nearly suffocating him.

Meanwhile, Ben had rushed into the bathroom, trying to get ready for today’s event.

 _“We’re meeting Aika today!”_ His brain supplied, helpfully.

 _“Yeah, I could have used that info 15 minutes ago!”_ Ben thought sarcastically, glaring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

“Wass the matter?” A tired Hikaru slurred, walking up behind Ben, wrapping his arms around his waist and slumping heavily against his husband. “You seem stressed.” He slurred again, “You, should come back to bed… with me.”

Ben smiled, despite the even earlier hours Hikaru had to wake up in order to be on the bridge at 06:00, his pilot husband was not a morning person. The man needed approximately 5 cups of coffee to keep himself from falling asleep. Ben thought it was adorable, but he always worried that Hikaru would oversleep while on his missions and he would miss his shifts.

“‘Ru-honey, we have a lot of preparations to take care of before we meet Aika.” Ben hummed, turning around to give his husband a quick kiss, before turning back to the mirror, debating whether or not he had enough time to shower before they left.

“What prep is there?” Hikaru asked tiredly, his voice mumbled from where it was buried in Ben’s robe. “We just have to show up… that’s it.”

“We still have to call the school and tell them that Demi won’t be there today and I still have to call my work and tell them the same thing. We still have to make breakfast and get ready, and shit! I don’t think we’ll even have room in the apartment for her if this all works out.” Ben wheezed, out of breath and sobbing uncontrollably. His voice was getting weaker and difficult to understand in between his sobs and the hiccups that riddled his speech. “Because… where are we... going to put... the crib... and... all her stuff? And when... she gets older, where will her bed go? And what... are we... going to do... about-”

“Ben!” Hikaru spoke loudly, startling the blubbering man, making him flinch violently. Hikaru knew Ben was prone to frequent panic attacks, and whether he was drunk, dead tired, sober, or high, he knew when Ben was having one or when he was about to have one and how to calm him down.

“Ben-baby,” He spoke softly, in a soothing tone, pulling the man against him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to shout.” He gently eased Ben to the floor, sitting down in front of him. Ben tumbled forward, his head crashing into Hikaru’s chest; his body feeling very weak and tense at the same time. Hikaru’s heart ached as he saw Ben tremble violently against his body. He took a deep breath before speaking.

“We’re going to go make some breakfast, a little eggs, a little toast, some cereal.” Hikaru murmured softly, rubbing Ben’s back in slow, even strokes. Ben’s hiccups and sobs continued as Hikaru spoke. “Then, you can go get ready; brush your teeth, have a shower if you want, get dressed.”

Ben felt the tension in his chest, in his lungs, slowly start to leave. He found his his breathing has started to match the even strokes of Hikaru’s hand on his back. His sobs had slowed down and his hiccups were all that remained; with the exception of a few sobs, here and there.

“And while you’re doing that,” Hikaru continued, his voice had slowly gotten louder, but still remained quieter than usual. He placed a line of kisses down Ben’s face and up again, to the top of his head, “I’ll call the school and your work and I’ll tell them that we will be away on family matters all day, but you’ll be back on Monday.”

Ben was as silent as the room; nothing could be heard, except the ringing sound that comes from your ears.

“How does that sound?” Hikaru murmured into Ben’s hair, rubbing the man’s back three more times before stopping and moving his hands to Ben’s jaw. He gently lifted up Ben’s face, so he could look at Ben’s eyes. They were redder than usual, but that worried, scared look that had before had disappeared. He knew Ben was still worried, after all he’d been married to Ben for __ years now, he knew the man inside and out. He knew his panic attacks lasted for hours, not minutes. Usually small things, like a little breakfast, a hot shower, a long bath, would help calm his husband’s nerves.

After what felt like forever for Hikaru, Ben eventually let out a weak, trembling sigh. He took a few deep breaths and uttered an, “Okay.”

“So is that something you can do?” Hikaru asked softly, giving Ben a worried look.

To Hikaru’s relief, Ben smiled.

“Yeah, I can do that.”

“Okay. Now let’s go get some breakfast.” Hikaru hummed, helping Ben to his feet and helping him out of the bathroom.

“‘Morning, Daddy, Papa!” Demora cheered happily upon them entering the kitchen. “Are you excited?”

Hikaru beamed brightly at their daughter. “Of course we are,” He smiled, giving the top of her head a quick kiss. When she resumed eating her cereal he turned back to Ben, slinging his arm around his waist, guiding him through the last few steps to the dining room table.

“Thanks ‘Ru,” Ben sighed, as Hikaru helped him into a chair, kissing his temple, before returning to the kitchen to make them some breakfast.

“Demi, I’m making some breakfast for me and Papa. Would you like some or are you already full from your cereal?” Hikaru asked, poking his out from the kitchen.

“Sure! What are you making?”

“Eggs, some toast, and I’ll probably have a bowl of cereal myself. Are you interested?”

“I’ll have some toast if you’re making it.” She called back, her mouth full of cereal.

“Sweetheart, finish chewing before you speak,” Hikaru chided, “Alright?”

“Alright.” She answered, simply.

Hikaru went back to his cooking. He had both sides of the toaster, filled and two separate pans of eggs going, over easy for Ben and sunny-side up for himself. Hikaru loved making breakfast because it took very little time to complete. The eggs were done within 5 minutes and the toast within 3 minutes. He smiled to himself as checked the cook on Ben’s eggs.

 _“They’re perfect.”_ He grinned.

He removed the eggs from the pan just as the toast popped from the toaster. Placing Ben’s eggs and two toasts on one plate, he put his own eggs and toast on another plate. Grabbing one more plate, he placed the last slice of toast on it for Demi. He left the kitchen, carrying Ben and Demora’s plates, setting them down in front of them. He joined them once he grabbed his own plate, sitting in between his husband and his daughter.

“Thank you Daddy!” Demora chirped, buttering her toast and taking a huge bite out of it.

“Thank you ‘Ru,” Ben sniffled, biting his toast hesitantly, not feeling particularly hungry. Hikaru watched him eat the toast slowly, and halfheartedly poke at his eggs. Hikaru felt his heart break all over again. He reached over and placed his hand softly on Ben’s thigh. He gave a soft, sad smile when Ben looked down at him, which Ben returned.

 _“You should eat,”_ Hikaru motioned with his eyes, looking down at Ben’s eggs and back up to his husband.

 _“I know,”_ Ben sighed, _“I just don’t feel particularly hungry.”_

_“You’ll feel better if you eat.”_

“Okay,” Ben hummed, cutting off a piece of his eggs and swallowing it. “Oh man, that’s good.” He sighed quietly, leaning back in his chair.

“I told you,” Hikaru whispered, softly rubbing Ben’s thigh.

“I know,” Ben answered with a small smile.

And with that, Hikaru joined him in eating breakfast. They both finished all of their eggs, and with the exception of a few, stray crusts on Ben’s plate, they had licked their plates clean.

“Oh, that was amazing,” Ben moaned, still leaning back in his chair, rubbing his stomach, happily. “Thank you, ‘Ru.”

“You’re welcome,” Hikaru smiled, standing up from his chair, before leaning down to kiss his husband, much to Demora’s discomfort.

“That’s gross, Daddy.” She complained, covering her eyes and making a disgusted face.

“It’s called love, sweetie,” He smiled, giving her a wet kiss on the cheek, that she promptly wiped off, leaving the two men at the table, alone.

“Now, you go take a shower while, I, clean these dishes and make a few calls.” Hikaru spoke as he collected the dishes and placed them into the dishwasher.

“‘Ru, why don’t I-”

“Ah, ah, ah!” Hikaru interrupted, placing a hand on Ben’s chest, stopping him. “You go have a shower, and once I’m finished here, I’ll come join you. Okay?”

“Okay.” Ben smiled, trotting off to their bathroom, but not before Hikaru could playfully swat at his rear.

 

Hikaru sighed, sitting down on their bed and pulling out his PADD. He sent a quick transmission to Demora’s school, explaining why she wouldn’t be at school today, before sending a nearly identical message to Ben’s work, with a few words changed, here and there. Doubling checking that both of his messages got were sent, he smiled, making his way to the bathroom to join his husband in the shower.

“Ben, you still in there?” He joked as he entered the bathroom and disrobed.

“Who else would be in here?” Ben laughed, turning to face his husband as he joined him in the shower. “We have our own bathroom.”

“I know, it’s called a joke.” Hikaru smiled, resting his hands on Ben’s waist. He couldn’t help but notice how ridiculous Ben looked with his hair full of bubbly suds.

“Oh, you are quite the comedian, Hikaru.” Ben chuckled sarcastically, leaning down to kiss his husband.

“Ben, you’re getting suds in my eyes.” Hikaru complained softly.

“Oh shit! Sorry...” He apologized, immediately grabbing a dry washcloth and rubbing Hikaru’s eyes with it.

“It’s okay, that happens when you shower sometimes.”

“Your husband gets soap in your eye?”

“No, you get soap in your own eye.”

“Are you alright?” Ben asked, removing the cloth from Hikaru’s face and setting it back on the shelf, where it came from.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Hikaru assured, pecking Ben on the lips, “You worry too much.”

“I’m the responsible dad, that’s what I do.”

“And I’m the fun dad,” Hikaru spoke, kneeling down and tickling the backs of Ben’s knees.

“Please, please! Hikaru, stop it! Please!” Ben pleaded, his laughter echoing off the shower tiles, filling the bathroom with a pleasant warmth.

“Okay, I’ll stop.” Hikaru hummed, grabbing the shampoo and handing it to Ben, “That is, if you wash my hair for me… you know how much I love you hands.”

Ben blushed brightly, something that went unnoticed in the dim shower lighting.

“So… how do you feel?” Hikaru tried, hoping that Ben was feeling well enough to meet their new daughter.

“I feel a lot better,” Ben smiled, massaging Hikaru’s scalp with his soapy, shampoo hands. He always prefered Hikaru’s hair to his own. Hikaru’s was the perfect combination of thick and soft. It could mold into any style that Hikaru wanted, with very little product, while still remaining as soft as can be. His hair was subpar compared to Hikaru’s. His bedhead would last all day, it was always at risk of leaking white flakes everywhere and was so plain in comparison to Hikaru’s.

“You’re thinking too hard.” Hikaru commented, despite having his back turned to the man.

“Sorry, I just love your hair.” He grinned, kissing Hikaru’s shoulder, trailing his soapy hands down the man’s arms.

“It is one of my finer assets.” Hikaru smirked, grabbing the retractable shower head. _“Thank god for water showers.”_ Hikaru sighed, tilting Ben’s head down to rinse out his hair. _“Three years in space and I still can get used to those damn sonic showers.”_

“I’d argue that your ass is best asset.” Ben hummed as he returned Hikaru’s favour and rinsed out his hair.

“Oh would you?”

“Yeah I would.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“You’re beautiful.”

“So are you,” Hikaru blushed, “Now hurry up, or we’re going to be late.”

 

Ben’s brow furrowed slightly, a stray water drop, sliding down his face.

“Hey babe?”

“Yeah?”

“What are you wearing to the Agency?” Ben asked, staring at their closet, confused.

“This,” Hikaru answered simply, stepping out of the bathroom and gesturing to his clothes, giving a quick spin as he went. He was wearing a simple, green, baseball tee with some blue jeans. _“He looks great. He looks like a suburban gay dad… which he is, but he pulls it off very well.”_ “Why do you ask?”

“Because, I don’t know what to wear.” He answered, pawing through their closet at the various shirts that hung in his half of the small space. “Can you help me?”

“Of course,” Hikaru smiled, waving Ben to the side of the bed. A few moments later, he pulled out a plum-coloured dress shirt, before turning on his heel and opening up their dresser, sorting through Ben’s pants. He blindly chucked a pair of light grey khakis at the man, followed by a pair of boxers and some very colourful socks. “And wear those blue shoes of yours with them.” He added before entering the bathroom again.

“Thank you!” Ben hollered as he buttoned up his shirt.

“You’re welcome!” Hikaru hollered back.

 

Ben was just buttoning up his pants when Hikaru left the bathroom with a, “It’s all yours,” And a quick kiss on the lips.

Ben made quick work of brushing his teeth and combing his hair. Declaring it good enough, he put on his glasses and joined his family in the living room. Demi was already dressed. She was wearing her favourite yellow dress, the one that reminded her of Hikaru’s uniform. She had a green headband with a bow on it and a pair of yellow Mary Janes and to tie the whole ensemble together.

The two of them were sitting on the floor, while Hikaru braided Demi’s hair. Checking his chronometer, Ben realized they still had 75 minutes to kill before they had to leave. In reality, they probably could have slept in another hour, but this way, they would definitely be on time. With his mind blank, Ben turned on the holo television and selected and old title, _Mulan II._

“Demi, you’ve seen _Mulan_ , right?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen it.”

“Have you seen the sequel?”

“No.”

“Perfect!” He smiled, “We have just enough time to watch it before we have to leave. Now, personally, I think the first one is much better, but this one is still good. Is that alright?”

Hikaru shrugged, “I don’t see why not. Sure, let’s watch it!”

 

* * *

 

“Ben! I thought you said we would have enough time to watch it!” Hikaru spat, quickly turning off the television and rushing to put on his shoes.

“I thought so, but I guess we rewound so many of the scenes that it took longer to finish than it should have.” He winced, as he opened the door and waited for his family to join them in the hallway.

“It’s okay, we still have plenty of time to get there.”

“We’ll make it!” Demora encouraged, bouncing on her feet. “Come on! Let’s go! Let’s go meet my sister.” She screeched, running for the turbolift, that was only a few paces away. She pressed the down button quickly, continuing to push it at a rapid pace until the lift arrived. She did the same thing to the main floor button in the lift. As soon as the doors opened, Hikaru and Ben struggled to keep up with their daughter as she shot off for the agency at lightning speed. They only caught up with her once they got to the nearest transporter and beamed directly into the lobby of the Adoption Agency.

“Hi, welcome to Sweet Gardens,” The secretary at the front desk spoke, when they approached her desk. “I’m Arabelle, how can I help you?”

“Uh, we’re the Sulus’. I’m Ben, and that’s Hikaru and Demora.” Ben spoke pointing to his husband and daughter. “We have a meeting with Tahira at 10:00. She was going to introduce us to Aika Alonto.”

“Oh, great!” She beamed, “I’ll just comm her. She’ll be here in a few minutes to take you to meet her.”

“Thank you,” The family chorused, sitting on a nearby couch until Tahira arrived.

“Wow, you’re early!” She smiled, politely shaking Hikaru and Ben’s hands again. “Well, if you’ll just follow me, I’ll take you to Aika.”

 

Demora was practically bursting with excitement as Tahira led them into a turbolift and down a long hallway. She eventually stopped at a room labeled, ‘3G’. She opened the door and the family followed her inside. The room was filled with a dim, yellow light coming from a small wall light. The rest of the room was fairly small, barely big enough to fit all five of them, including Aika. There was a colourful, red rug with pink stars that took up the remaining floor that the crib and single rocking chair, did not take up. The walls were plain and white. The most interesting thing in the room was a mobile hanging over her crib, made up of several stars, planets and a couple of well known space stations, including Yorktown. Tahira turned the lights up, and lifted Aika out of her crib.

“Sorry about the lights,” She apologized, “This is usually when she naps.”

“Oh, we should have come later, then.” Hikaru spoke, as she placed her handed Aika to him.

“That’s alright, it just means that she might not feel like playing right now and might fall asleep on you.” She explained, “So, as long as you’re okay with that, then you should be fine.”  

“That’s perfectly fine,” Ben answered, accepting Aika when Hikaru passed her into his arms. “Oh,” Ben breathed, when she opened her eyes. “She’s beautiful.” He cried, attempting to brush the stray strands of thin, black hair, out of her face. He was unsuccessful.

“If you want, you can set her down and play with her.” Tahira suggested, opening a toy chest and pulling out several colourful toys and setting them down on the carpet.

“Really?” Hikaru asked, kneeling on the floor; Demora following suit.

“Of course.” Tahira answered, handing Hikaru a soft, red toy, similar to a rabbit. “Here, this one is her favourite. Put it just out of her reach and she will grab it.”

“Okay,” He spoke, as Ben carefully set Aika down.

Hikaru did just as instructed, placing the rabbit-like creature out of the toddler’s reach. With a simple head-tilt, Aika stumbled forward and grabbed the rabbit.

“And it helps her learning if you give her lots of positive feedback after this.” Tahira explained, while Aika, sloppily, bit at the rabbit’s ear. Ben thought it was adorable, despite the slobbery mess she was making of her chin. “Even though she won’t know what you’re saying, it will help her learn that this is something that she should be doing.”

Hikaru nodded.“Alright. Good job, Aika,” He beamed, clapping his hands together. Aika looked up at the sound and gave a gummy smile. She giggled quietly and clapping her hands silently, similar to Hikaru’s just a moment ago.

Hikaru let out a happy, cooing sound. He thought he felt his heart skip a beat but he couldn’t be sure.

“Ooo, ooo!” Demora smiled, grabbing a blue fish and setting it in front of Aika.“I want to play with her! I want to play with her!” She shouted, enthusiastically.

“Demi, I know you’re excited, but you have to keep it down.” Ben winced, “She’s just a baby. She’s very sensitive to loud noises.”

“And there’s other people living here. You need to respect their privacy and being quieter for them.” Hikaru added, resting a hand on her shoulder.

Demi nodded. “Sorry, I just got really excited.”

“And that’s good, just tone it down a little bit.”

“I will… Can I play with her now?” She asked, quieter than before.

“Yes, yes you can.” Hikaru hummed.

Smiling brightly, Demora directed Aika’s attention to the fish and set it in front of her, again. It took a few points and several bright smiles before Aika scooted over to retrieve the fish.  

“Yay! You did it! Aika you did it!” Demora laughed, bouncing on her toes. She held her arms out and motioned to herself with her hands. “Come here! Come to Demi! Aika can you do that? Can you come to Demi?” She asked, holding out her hands for Aika to grab.

Aika sat back on her butt and gave a confused, lost, expression.

“Go to Demi, Aika!” Hikaru added, when she started sucking her thumb.

“Aika!” Ben called, getting the girl’s attention. He pointed back to Demora and spoke, “Go to Demi!”

“Come on! Come here!” Demora tried again, shuffling closer to Aika.

After this, Aika seemed to get the general idea and she crawled towards Demora. Stumbling a few times and slipping completely, once, she crawled close enough for Demora to lift her up and onto her lap. “You made it!” She smiled, bouncing her softly on her knees. “Aika, you did it!

The encouragement from her big sister made Aika laughed loudly, shuffling around within Demora’s grasp.

“You know, it’s around her feeding time.” Tahira whispered to Hikaru and Ben, while Demora made funny faces at her younger sister, earning a delightful giggle at each one. “You could feed her if you want.” She finished.

“Is that alright?” Ben asked at the same time Hikaru asked, “Are we allowed to do that?”

“Yes and yes. In fact, we encourage it. Because then we can teach new parents, who might not have had children before, how to properly feed babies and infants. As well as educate them on where their child is in terms of what they have and what they haven’t learned.” She explained.

“Well, we’d love to.” Ben answered, following Tahira out of the room, while Hikaru stayed with Demora and Aika.

 

Ben and Tahira returned to find Demora helping Aika walk across the room. Demora had a soft, yet supportive grip on Aika’s hands, they had made it halfway across the room before Aika got distracted by Ben and Tahira at the door. She took several steps towards them, with the help of Demora, before her legs gave out and she slowly slipped to the floor.

Pouting slightly, she rolled over and crawled the rest of the way to Ben, before sitting down and holding her hands out to him. She made several gurgling noises, which Ben assumed was her equivalent of “Up, up!”

Setting down the sippy cup, full of formula milk and the container of pureed carrots, he lifted Aika up and booped her nose, playfully. He couldn’t ignore the way her laughter made his heart sing. When he looked over at Hikaru and Demi, smiling beside him, he knew they felt the same way. Gently, he set her down in the high chair that Tahira finished setting up for her. Hikaru, who had picked up the cup and the food, set it down on the tray of the highchair.

Ben opened the container of carrots and grabbed the spoon from the tray before sitting down in a nearby chair. He held a spoonful out to Aika, who looked at the mixture, confused.

“It helps if you use wide gestures or voices to catch her attention.” Tahira suggested, at Ben’s failed attempt to get Demora to eat her lunch.

“You mean like, ‘here comes the airplane?’” Ben asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Exactly. It may seem odd to us, as adults, but to Aika, it’s something that will excite her. Something that will grab her attention.” She explained.

 _“Okay, here goes nothing...”_ Ben thought to himself. “Open up-- here comes the airplane!” He tried in a happy, upbeat tone, moving the spoon in wide strokes towards Aika. The infant was instantly drawn to the spoon and opened her mouth, swallowing the carrot puree that Ben had offered her. With several enthusiastic bounces and a series of giggles, it was safe to assume that carrots were a favourite of hers.

“Oooo,” Demora gasped, trotting forward, “I want to try! I want to try!” She looked up at Ben, who was sitting sitting on the chair, and asked him, “Papa? Can I feed Aika?”

With a headnod from Tahira and a smile from Hikaru, Ben picked up Demora and handed her the spoon.

Standing on Ben’s legs, much to Ben’s discomfort, Demora leaned over, resting her arms on the high chair’s table. She scooped a large amount of food and swooped it towards her sister with a loud, “Here comes the shuttle!”

Giggling loudly, Aika waved her arms around happily, before eating the next spoonful.

Demora fed her two more before Tahira piped up with a, “That should be enough for her, at least right now. But you can help encourage her to drink her milk.”

“Does she need any help holding it or can she hold it on her own?” Hikaru asked, now standing behind Ben and Demora’s chair. They all watched as Aika moved forward and grabbed the cup in her hands.

“She can hold it on her own. Occasionally she will drop her cup, but she’s still learning and her muscles haven’t developed fully.” She clarified, as Aika slowly drank from her cup. “Within the next few weeks, she should be able to hold it without dropping it.”

Hikaru gave a simple head nod, watching as Aika finished her milk and set the cup down on the tray.

“Didn’t you go through this with Demora when she was this age?” Tahira quietly questioned, pulling Hikaru off to the side. Her curiosity getting the best of her.

“Yeah, of course we did,” Hikaru answered, smiling at Demora’s attempt to make Aika laugh. “But all kids are different, they all grow up and age differently. I just wanted to know where Aika stands on the scale. What she’s learned and what she has yet to learn.”

“So that you can help her in every way you can.” Tahira finished, without a moment of hesitation.

“Exactly,” Hikaru breathed. He felt his heart throb in his chest as he saw Aika drift to sleep, still in her high chair. “I know we haven’t been here long,” He continued, watching as Ben, gently, lifted Aika out of her chair and put her down in her crib, covering her with a small blanket. “But I think I speak for my whole family when I say that we’ve made our decision.”

“We want to bring Aika home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it!! I'm so sorry that it took me this long to upload the last chapter. I've been so busy with school and work, that I've just got no time on my hands anymore. Thank you all so much, I love all of you... and I hope you don't hate me for the late update.

**Author's Note:**

> So there you have it. Please let met me know what you thought, I love hearing from you guys. Feel free to talk to me on [tumblr](http://gayspacepilots.tumblr.com/) and share head canons with me or talk about this adorable little family. I'll try to post a new chapter every few days as well as post some prompts from tumblr. 
> 
> I love you guys, you're all amazing and I hope you like this sequel as much as the original.


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